The 16th annual DU Women’s Conference on April 8 focused on the theme “Change and Transformation: One Woman at a Time.”
While workshops and presentations reinforced the theme, it was the conference’s keynote speaker who really brought the point home.
DU Professor Emerita Margaret Whitt said she was a young girl when a cowboy asked her what she most liked to do. She paused and thought, then she answered, “I like to read and write.”
Whitt’s passion for reading and writing became her life’s work — she taught English for more than 27 years at DU before retiring in 2009. She encouraged the more than 320 conference attendees to “find their dream” as she shared her reflections and recollections of women who have made a difference.
Several awards also were given out during the conference. Rebecca Otis, a PhD candidate in DU’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies received the Outstanding Student Award from the Graduate Women’s Council. Shelley Popke, executive assistant at The Women’s College, received the Robin Morgan Award from the Staff Women’s Association and Network. The annual award honors a staff woman who exemplifies advocacy for women — above and beyond job responsibilities.
This year’s Women’s Conference was sponsored by more than 20 organizations and departments campus-wide.