Five From UC Named Leading Women

Five UC faculty and staff members will be among the individuals honored as "Leading Women" on March 6 at the Millennium Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. A consortium of women's groups will host the awards presentation that focuses on women from all walks of Cincinnati life.

The event is the Ninth Annual Women's History Month "Celebration of Women" luncheon.  This year's keynote speaker is Kathryn Merchant, President/CEO, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

This annual event honors women who have achieved greatness in a wide variety of ways - some in business or industry, others in the arts; some quietly, others with a splash; some in non-traditional ways, others following more traditional paths.  In eight years, 143 women have been honored.

The luncheon ceremony is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For reservations, call (513) 619-1498.

The UC honorees are:

Arts/Entertainment
Laura Hollis, Founder of The Artery Gallery

Laura Hollis lives and breathes art. She received her Bachelor's of Fine Arts from NKU, where she impacted and encouraged other students with her cutting edge work, especially work that dealt with women's life experiences. While earning her Masters in Fine Arts at UC, she founded the non-profit gallery, The Artery in Newport, Ky. The Artery offers artists space to exhibit at low cost, works with underprivileged children and houses plays and performances. She is also on the committee that runs the Greenwich Gallery.  Besides running galleries and curating shows, Laura teaches at UC, NKU and the Art Academy. In addition to teaching, Hollis has been part of the Newport Arts and Music Festival and taught art to troubled youths. She currently shows her own work at the Carnegie Arts Center in Covington, Ky., and recently has become involved in filmmaking.

Consulting/Training/Education
Patricia O'Reilly, Educator and Administrator,
University of Cincinnati (retired)

Women and children in the Greater Cincinnati area owe a debt of gratitude to Patricia O'Reilly. Dr. O'Reilly served as a professor of education and psychology at UC, head of the Division of Education Studies and Educational Foundations. In these roles she was responsible for: coordinating a conference for 700 adolescents girls; developing and acquiring funding for the Gender Equity Center; establishing a certificate in Women's Studies at the Master's level for UC; securing funding and designing and supervising the building of Arlitt Child Development Center; securing the first Head Start grant at UC; and spearheading the Over-The-Rhine Parent-Child Center. Dr. O'Reilly currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Midwest Center for Non-Profit Leadership; the Steering Committee of Can We Talk?; National Diversity Forum; Commission on the Status of UC Women; and the Collaborative on Education for Women and Children.  She has written numerous grants for projects to benefit women and girls, as well as serving a trainer for myriads of seminars for women.

Public Service/Government
Florence M. Newell, Cincinnati School Board Member,
Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati

Dr. Florence Newell currently serves as an elected member of the Cincinnati School Board, holds a tenured position with the University of Cincinnati College of Education and is a licensed elementary school teacher. Dr. Newell has established herself nationally as a teacher, a mentor and an innovator of quality teaching practices. Dr. Newell has several significant publications and is particularly known for her work on the remediation of literacy needs of children. Dr. Newell does not limit her activities only to the academic world. She has been a community leader at the Roselawn Community Planning for Student Success Committee, chair of the Hays Elementary School LSDMC, Project Succeed Academy and the Urban League. Her work has brought personal satisfaction, but more importantly to our children, Dr. Newell's work has brought recognition of the excellent work being done at the University of Cincinnati College of Education.

Technology/Science
Margaret M. Hanson, Professor of Physics,
University of Cincinnati

Seeking the stars above, Dr. Margaret M. Hanson is dedicated as a scientist, educator, leader, innovator, role model and mentor. Through her participation with Cincinnati branch of the AAUW (the American Association of University Women, which promotes education, self development and equality for all women and girls, many have benefited by her expertise. She has been a recipient of the Edith C. Alexander Award for Distinguished Teaching. Hanson's most noted research is the use of high resolution, near infrared spectroscopy to study stars and star clusters of high mass, which Margaret developed and has quantified since 1994. Nine women are mentored by Dr. Hanson in her role as a professor of physics in McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati. Margaret serves the Cincinnati Museum Center's Planetarium Project, Cincinnati Parks human sundial design innovation, Clark Montessori High School astronomy program, and the AAUW Committee-Math/Science/Technology for Girls.

Women's Advocacy
Julie Flammer, Business Director,
UC Office of the Vice President for Finance

Julie Flammer has devoted a tremendous amount of time and effort in her volunteer activities. At the same time, she pursued her Bachelor's Degree at the University of Cincinnati's College of Evening and Continuing Education. In addition to her position as director of Business Operations at UC, she has served on the boards of such groups as Women's Crisis Center in Kentucky, Bearcat Toastmasters, the UC Association for Administrators, Managers and Professionals, and the UC Child Care Center. She has also volunteered in many leadership capacities, such as the UC Association for Women Administrators' participation with the American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Walk and The Dress for Success program. She has done volunteer work at Women Helping Women. She was chair of the UC Charitable Giving Campaign and active in the UC Women's Leadership Conference, Take Our Daughters to Work Day, and the Volunteer Leadership Development Program. She also supports the UC/XU Crosstown Help Out and women's athletics.