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Editor, journalist and political activist Gloria
Steinem, a tireless promoter of equality for women around the world, was the speaker
at Smith College’s 129th commencement ceremony, Sunday, May 20, 2007.
Steinem’s lifelong career as a writer and journalist
began when she graduated from Smith in 1956. Her early freelance articles include
an investigative piece for Show magazine on the working conditions of Playboy
bunnies. By the 1960s, Steinem had gained national attention as the outspoken leader
of the women’s movement. In 1971, she co-founded Ms. magazine, which
became an influential forum for feminist issues. Around that time, Steinem and several
other leading feminists -- including Betty Friedan, Smith Class of 1942 -- also founded
the National Women’s Political Caucus.
Steinem received an honorary degree from Smith in 1988
and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y.,
in 1993. She has twice before delivered the commencement address at Smith, in 1971
and 1995. During the latter address, Steinem noted, “Trusting our own experience...may
be the single most revolutionary thing we can do.”
Following Steinem’s address, four other accomplished
women received honorary degrees.
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Dr. Helene
Gayle, pediatrician, director of health initiatives
In 2006, Gayle became the first woman and first person of color to lead the
60-year-old international humanitarian organization CARE. The same year, the
Wall Street Journal named her among its “50 Women to Watch.” Since
completing her medical residency at Children’s Hospital National Center
in Washington, D.C., Gayle has focused her attention on HIV and AIDS and issues
pertaining to women, children, adolescents and U.S. minority and international
populations. Prior to her post as CARE president, Gayle directed the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Program and spent nearly
20 years at the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
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Ruth Holmberg,
journalist, Smith Class of 1943
For nearly three decades, until her retirement in 1992, Holmberg served as
publisher of the Chattanooga Times and the Times Printing Company. After earning
her bachelor of arts degree in history from Smith in 1943, Holmberg began her
career as a newspaper reporter and a magazine writer at the New York Times. Throughout
her life, Holmberg played groundbreaking roles in both business and civic affairs.
She was the first woman to head a major Chattanooga business and the second
woman tapped for the Associated Press Board of Directors, following Kay Graham,
the late publisher of the Washington Post. A founding member of the
Tennessee Arts Commission, Holmberg is chair of the Public Education Foundation
and a director of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Association. |
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Nancy Hopkins, geneticist
Hopkins, professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), has achieved recognition for both her research and her work on gender
equity issues in science. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, Hopkins has identified genes that predispose zebrafish to cancer
and may eventually shed light on human genes, physiology and birth defects.
Her work as chair of the first Committee on Women Faculty in the School
of Science at MIT shed light on a different subject: inequalities for women.
Hopkins was the main force behind the study that led a former MIT president
to acknowledge a pattern of bias at the institution in 1999. The following
year, Hopkins was appointed co-chair of the first Council on Faculty Diversity
at MIT. |
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Lauren Lazin, award-winning
filmmaker, Smith Class of 1982
After graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Smith in 1982, Lazin
joined the nascent network MTV and has been there ever since. Throughout the
years, Lazin has directed, produced, written and edited more than 40 award-winning
documentary and news specials on issues such as racism, drugs, sexual abuse
and AIDS. Her first feature film, Tupac: Resurrection, about the often-troubled
life of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, was nominated for an Oscar. Today, Lazin
produces the Emmy-nominated “Uncensored,” among other shows. Outside
of MTV, she has directed films for the National Organization for Women and
in 1996 was named “Role Model of the Year” by the Women’s
College Coalition |
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2007
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