Women’s History Month events to feature PBSC leaders
Two of the events being held at Palm Beach State College in celebration of Women’s History Month will feature College administrators.
President Ava L. Parker, J.D., will moderate the “Limitless Opportunity: Women Leaders in Higher Education”panel discussion from noon to 1:30 p.m. March 22 at the Dolly Hand Cultural Arts Center at the Belle Glade campus. The panelists include Dr. Maria Vallejo, vice president of growth and expansion and provost of the Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves campuses; Dr. Bernadette Russell, vice president for e-learning and instructional technology and Boca Raton campus provost; Dr. Jean Wihbey, vice president for workforce development and Lake Worth campus provost and Dr. Holly Bennett, vice president for institutional effectiveness and Palm Beach Gardens provost. They will discuss their unique challenges and successes.
From 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. that day, Dr. Ginger Pedersen, vice president of information services, and Janet DeVries Naughton, librarian/associate professor, will present “Cora Stickney Harper: A Life of Service” in the Lake Worth campus library gallery. The two history enthusiasts and co-authors of “Legendary Locals of West Palm Beach” will share the long-forgotten story of the extraordinary woman and her remarkable life and death. Stickney was among the first graduates of Wellesley College in 1880 and a close friend of Kathrine Lee Bates, who wrote the poem, “America the Beautiful.” Stickney moved to Florida in the late 1890s to convalesce following her father’s tragic death. An artist, author, scientist and suffragette, she married Charles T. Harper, a mailman and station agent for Henry Flagler’s FEC railroad. She founded the Boynton Woman’s Club and library and the Fort Pierce Daughters of the American Revolution chapter.
Both events are free. For more information about the Belle Glade event, call the Student Activities office at 561-993-1169. For more information about the Lake Worth campus event, call 561- 868-3800.
