Joyce McConnell Award for Outstanding Feminist Leadership
Due date for all honors, scholarships, and awards:Monday April 13, 2020
This award is named after Joyce McConnell, who
served as dean of the WVU College of Law from 2008 to 2014, as provost of WVU
from 2014-2019 and in 2019 became the first female president of Colorado State
University on its 150th anniversary. As dean of the College of
Law, Joyce McConnell faced the Great Recession of 2008, a sharp national
decline in law-school enrollment but persevered to expand clinical and
interdisciplinary legal education focused both on social justice and
sustainable development. To house new programs and make the law school a 21st Century
facility, she added a wing dedicated to experiential legal education and
redesigned the existing building. As provost, she led WVU during a
period of significant transition for West Virginia University, economic crisis
in the state of West Virginia, soul-searching across higher education, and
political and cultural upheaval for our nation. McConnell has
consistently spoken to and for the faculty of WVU on such thorny and critical
topics as free speech and diversity. In the face of these
challenges, McConnell led WVU forward with several social justice initiatives,
including improving Title IX enforcement, particularly focused on sexual
assault and violence against women; and strengthening accessibility services
for differently abled students, staff and faculty. Focusing on
diversity, equity and inclusion, McConnell created an LGBTQ+ Center, Women’s
Resource Center and incorporated the ADVANCE Center into the Provost’s Office. Working
to improve public education and economic opportunity in WV, she oversaw the WV
Public Education Collaborative, the Center for Excellence in STEM Education, WV
Forward, and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. In
summary, this award recognizes the feminist principles of social and economic
empowerment, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Apply, go to this link: https://wvu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_01J92loD2Jrwgrb