The quest for equal pay, the art of professional damage control and the challenges of the public arena are some of the issues at the heart of numerous events at MTSU in March.

Click on the 2016 MTSU National Women’s History Month event calendar to see the full-size version.

“Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government” is the theme of MTSU’s 2016 observance of National Women’s History Month.

Many-Bears Grinder

Tennessee Commissioner of Veterans Services Many-Bears Grinder will highlight the opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 1, in Room 462 of the James E. Walker Library.

The event is open to the public. A printable parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap. 

MTSU alumna Jessica Morrison, assistant editor for government and policy at Chemical and Engineering News, will discuss her career path in the 2016 Women in Science Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in the MTSU Science Building.

Jessica Morrison

Two women whose mettle has been tested in government service will discuss their careers in “Boss Lady: Women Leadership in the 21st Century,” a panel discussion slated for 2 p.m. Thursday, March 17, in the Student Union Parliamentary Room.

Lynda R. Williams, deputy assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Human Resources, and Allison Greene-Sands, deputy chief of staff and senior adviser for strategic initiatives for the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Assault Office, are the panelists.

A panel of MTSU students, faculty and staff will talk about attitudes they’ve faced on campus regarding sexuality and gender at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building.

“Equal Dime for Equal Time: Building a Strong Economic Foundation for Tennessee Families” is slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, March 24, in the MT Center’s Ingram Building at 2269 Middle Tennessee Blvd.

This discussion of equal pay for women will include Phyllis Qualls-Brooks, executive director of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women; state Reps. John Ray Clemmons and Brenda Gilmore, both of Nashville; Sarah L. Smith and Sylvia Hall of the Nashville area office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Yvonne Wood of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s advisory committee on the status of women in the South.

Men will attempt to follow in women’s footsteps at the annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, starting on the sun deck of the Campus Recreation Center. It’s part of the International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault and Gender Violence.

Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. March 30, and free food, music and karaoke are scheduled. The first 100 participants will receive a free T-shirt.

Buttons featuring a prominent woman of achievement are distributed on campus during each National Women’s History Month celebration. Benazir Bhutto, the late former prime minister of Pakistan and the first female leader of a Muslim nation in modern history, adorns this year’s button.

Most MTSU National Women’s History Month events are free and open to the public. A complete calendar of events is available here.

For more information, contact Barbara Scales, director of the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students, at 615-898-5812 or barbara.scales@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)