Feb. 23, 2024

Women’s History Month events featuring Women’s Leadership Summit, self-care event, movie screening

By Georgia McGonigle, communication assistant

Northwest Missouri State University is celebrating Women’s History Month with a variety of activities, including a Women’s Leadership Summit aimed at empowering women and supporting aspiring leaders.

“It is a time to celebrate the achievements of women across the world, reflect on the progress we have made in creating equitable spaces for women and discern the opportunities to improve,” Dr. Jessie Peter, senior coordinator of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, said.

Northwest will host a Women’s Leadership Summit, with the theme “Inspire, Connect and Empower,” from 8:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, on the third floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union.

With a focus on empowering women to become leaders in the Northwest community and beyond, the summit will bring together women in leadership and women who aspire to be leaders for learning sessions, presentations, discussions and a keynote address by Dr. Karen Kassenbaum.

Kassebaum serves as the inaugural Global Inclusion Lead at Hudl, and she is the founder of “Athlete2Athlete,” an organization that provides transitional mentoring and leadership development for student-athletes. With a professional background in staff diversity recruitment and retention, inclusive leadership and learning, diversity education and inclusive excellence, she also mentors individuals new to the diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging spaces. 

Kassenbaum earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and educational psychology, and she has a doctorate degree in educational leadership and higher education from University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 

Additionally, the summit will honor people within the Northwest community who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to supporting, advocating and establishing equity for others with the Northwest Women’s Leadership Awards. Nominees are being accepted in the categories of student, community member, staff and faculty; all members of the Northwest community may submit nominations by clicking here.

Individuals interested in speaking at the summit may submit their presentation ideas by clicking here.

The deadline for submitting presentations and award nominations is Friday, March 8.

The Women’s Summit is free and open to the public; individuals must register to attend the luncheon, keynote speaker and awards presentation by clicking here.

The event is sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth School of Business, the School of Computer Science and Information Systems, the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and the Ally Affinity Group with additional support from Mosaic Life Care and local businesses.

Other Women’s History Month activities

Self-Care Sunday

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will host a Self-Care Sunday event from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 24, in the Student Engagement Center on the second floor of the Student Union. Students can participate in sand art, coloring, nail care and guided meditation. Participants are encouraged to bring their own self-care products and share product reviews.

Movie night

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will host a movie night, showing “Hidden Figures,” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, in the Student Union Boardroom. The film depicts the true story of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson, three African-American mathematicians at NASA who worked to launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit in 1962, and the race and gender barriers they had to overcome. Students and staff will facilitate a discussion panel after the movie.

Tribute to Women

At 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28, at the Agricultural Learning Center, the Minority Men’s Organization will host its Tribute to Women, an annual formal dinner to promote and celebrate the gifts and talents of women on the Northwest campus. The event will feature entertainment and a keynote address by Northwest Provost Dr. Jamie Hooyman.

Awards also will be given in the following categories: Mrs. Northwest, Most Influential Greek Life Student, Best Supportive Faculty/Staff, Most Involved Student of Northwest, and Most Dedicated Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. Click here to nominate an individual.

The event is free to attend, but registration is required by clicking here.

More information

National Women’s History Month originated in 1981 as a week-long celebration and the U.S. Congress declared in 1987 that it be celebrated each March. A presidential proclamation is issued annually to honor the achievements of American women.

To learn more about the Women’s History Month activities at Northwest, contact Peter at Jpeter@32gg.net.