FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2005

MUW to honor Eloise Scott with Woman of the Year Award

By Jill D. O’Bryant

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Mississippi University for Women will award its 2005 Woman of the Year Award to Eloise Scott of Tupelo, a 1953 alumna and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.

The award will be presented to Scott at the annual Women’s Leadership Forum on Monday, April 25 at 5 p.m. in the Nissan Auditorium of Parkinson Hall. Last year’s recipient, Ricki Garrett, a 1973 alumna and a former member of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, will be the keynote speaker.

"Honoring Eloise Scott allows MUW the opportunity to recognize women who--through their work and service--have advanced the status of women in Mississippi and have aided MUW,” said Dr. Claudia A. Limbert, president.

In addition to this award, Scott received MUW’s Medal of Excellence in 2003 and an Alumni Achievement Award in 1999.

A legislator from 1988 to 2003, Scott earned a bachelor’s degree in homemaking education from MUW and a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi in 1955.

During her legislative career, she took special interest in issues affecting youth, families and the underprivileged, and she was a leader in efforts to improve education. Prior to her legislative career, she had a 30-year career in home economics education.

Dr. Limbert established the award to recognize women who, through their work in business, private life or public service, serve as role models for current and future generations of MUW students.

Recipients are selected based on their personal record of achievement and their commitment to the life-changing benefits provided by a higher education.

MUW Woman of the Year recipients will be permanently honored with an engraved marker in the Puckett Plaza on the MUW campus.

The Women’s Leadership Forum, a part of the Southern Women’s Institute, is free and open to the public.