Gloria Steinem to receive Otis Social Justice Award at Wheaton
February 14, 2000
Writer, editor and noted feminist Gloria Steinem is this year[base ']s recipient of the Wheaton College Otis Social Justice Award. Steinem will receive the award at Wheaton on March 1. While on campus, she will participate in the college[base ']s annual Otis Social Justice Symposium as keynote speaker.
Steinem, a writer and consulting editor for Ms. magazine, the international feminist bi-monthly that she co-founded in 1972, is also the founder of the Women[base ']s Action Alliance and the National Women[base ']s Political Caucus. Involved with a variety of projects in support of females, she is the founding president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, a national multi-racial women[base ']s fund that supports grassroots projects to empower women and girls. Steinem has also been honored for her work in promoting the self-esteem of girls.
As part of the Otis Social Justice Symposium, Steinem will participate in a panel discussion, ''Major Issues in the Three Waves of Feminism,'' moderated by college provost Susanne Woods. As keynote speaker for the symposium, Steinem will give a talk titled, ''Women in History and Vice Versa.''
Wheaton College inaugurated the Otis Social Justice Award in 1990. This event brings the college community together to explore issues central to a just society: peace, world hunger, human rights, and the protection of children. The event also honors the women and men who bring members of the community closer to compassionate action. These individuals receive the Otis Social Justice Award, which includes an honorarium that recipients may designate to the cause of their choice. Past recipients of the award have included former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, public school reform advocate Jonathan Kozol and Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman.
The Otis Social Justice Symposium begins at 4 p.m. on March 1, in the Hindle Auditorium of the Science Center with the panel discussion. Steinem[base ']s keynote address will be at 7:30 p.m. with a reception and book signing to follow in the Science Center lobby. The event is open to the public without charge. For further information, call 508-286-8235.