FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 24, 2006

Contact: Tracy Power

(662) 329-7119

 

`Women in Politics’ conference hosted at MUW

 

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women’s College of Business and the Southern Women’s Institute (SWI) are hosting a “Women in Politics” conference on Friday, Oct. 27.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Parkinson Hall Nissan Auditorium from 2-5 p.m. with a reception following.

Historian Martha Swain and visiting SWI scholar Dorothy Shawhan, a Mississippi writer, will open with a discussion of women in politics titled, “Moving from Pedestal to Politics.”

Following the presentation, Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Kay Beevers Cobb, a 1963 graduate of MUW, Mississippi Sen. Deborah Dawkins and newly elected Greenwood Mayor Sheriel Perkins will serve on a panel discussion about their personal experiences as women in public service.

            After the panel discussion, New Orleans filmmaker Bess Carrick will introduce her film “Lindy Boggs: Steel and Velvet.” The film’s premiere is the main event of the afternoon and tells the story of former Louisiana congresswoman and ambassador to the Vatican, Lindy Boggs. The one-hour documentary will air nationally on PBS beginning in November. 

Dr. Anne L. Balazs, interim dean of MUW’s College of Business, spearheaded the event and believes it will be, “informative and empowering.”

            “The entire MUW student body would benefit from the historical perspective and commentary on women’s influence on state politics,” she said.

            The event was deliberately scheduled for campaign season, according to Balazs, and MUW’s College Democrats and Republicans are helping host the event. The SWI, political science faculty and Torch Honor Society are also assisting.