Nokia honors three women

By Julie Ann Matonis
Staff Reporter

Two students and one faculty member received the Nokia Research Award at the Women and Community Dinner in the Student Center Ballroom Tuesday night.

Lisa Munger, a senior political science major; Margaret Lowry, a graduate student in the English department; and Sharon Harris, a professor in the English department, are the first recipients of the award. Each will receive $350 from Nokia.

Vanessa Nickson, manager of community relations for Nokia, announced the awards.

“At Nokia, continuous learning is one of our corporate values,” Nickson said. “I am pleased to represent Nokia as we share in the celebration of learning, and as a woman, I am thrilled to share in your celebration of women.”

Marcy Paul, program coordinator for the Women’s Resource Center, said there were 13 submissions for the award this year.

ecipients were chosen based on a written proposal and explanations of how their project contributes to the scholarly understanding of women’s issues. The proposal review committee was composed of faculty members from different academic disciplines.

Munger said the award is a great honor and will open up avenues for her research, which is titled “Women as Political Candidates: Debunking the Myths.”

“I will probably be able to expand the distribution of my research,” Munger said.

Lowry’s research focuses on American women’s autobiographies and coming-of-age novels. She said she will be sharing her work at a conference of the American Literature Association, and the award money will help fund her trip to Boston.

The dinner marked the beginning of the Seventh Annual Women’s Symposium, which takes place through Thursday. The theme of the symposium is “Women, Womin, Womyn: How We Are Defined, How We Define Ourselves.”

In his opening remarks, Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the Women’s Resource Center is all about choices.

“The Resource Center is not a destination, it is part of the journey,” Mills said. “It’s a starting point that provides information and ideas and opportunities for students as they move from TCU and prepare for life.”

Munger said this was her third year attending the dinner, and she said the event shows how women are active in different arenas in life.

“The message is that there are different ways women can find fulfillment and come together and share it,” she said.

Paul said 200 people attended the dinner, including approximately 40 students.

Julie Ann Matonis
j.a.matonis@student.tcu.edu