UC Santa Cruz professor of women's studies Bettina Aptheker has been honored with the "Award for Excellence in Education" by the California chapter of the National Organization for Women (CA NOW).
Aptheker received the award at a luncheon held on October 13 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento. Former UC Santa Cruz chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, now provost and senior vice president of academic affairs for the University of California, was also among the five women celebrated at the event.
"Awardees are selected based on their commitment to equality-driven education and the general advancement of women in the field of education." said CA NOW president, Megan Seely. "These women are stellar examples of the kind of individual who not only is successful in her chosen profession, but for whom the personal is professional, and the professional is political. They are well deserving of accolades, and we are proud to honor them."
A leader of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement in 1964, Aptheker is a scholar of history with a national reputation for her talents as an instructor. She started out in 1980 as the sole lecturer in the UC Santa Cruz Women's Studies Department, became the department's first ladder-rank faculty member in 1987, and was honored with the Alumni Association's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2001.
Past award recipient Janet Holmgren, president of Mills College, was the keynote speaker at the ceremony, hosted by an honorary committee of 39 people--including numerous members of the State Senate and State Assembly, and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.
2004 awards also went to Yvette Flores-Ortiz, professor of Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis; Debra Meyerson, associate professor of Education and organizational behavior at Stanford University; and Gyongy Laky, professor of environmental design at UC Davis.
