Women's and Gender Studies Awards

The Women’s and Gender Studies Program seeks submissions/nominations early in the spring semester for the following student awards. Each involves a prize of $150. All students are eligible.

Christine de Pizan Award

The Christine de Pizan Award is presented for the best paper,  project, or artwork coming under the interdisciplinary umbrella of Women’s and Gender Studies written or created for an academic course since March of the previous year. It is not necessary for the paper, project, or art to have been completed as part of a WGST course. Papers are read for clarity of argument, sophistication of gender-based analysis, quality of writing, and if applicable control of data and/or research material. Essays and other brief papers are welcome and strongly encouraged; the maximum length for a paper is 20 pages including notes. Students drawing from a thesis should trim their work to this length. Projects and artwork are judged based on quality and conceptual grounding in women’s studies. Any creative works  (including fiction, poetry, art) should be accompanied by a one-page artist’s statement specifying the relevance of the work for this award.  Written works of art should be no longer than 20 pages.  

Harriet Tubman Award

The Harriet Tubman Activism/Leadership Award is presented for outstanding contributions to women’s or gender issues on campus or in the community in the Spring, Summer, and Fall of the previous academic year. All nominees will be reviewed based upon 1) a current resume and 2) a letter of nomination of no more than two pages that describes the organization (s) where the nominee worked (on-campus, community, or otherwise), the significance of the work accomplished, and specifically how this relates to women’s studies/feminist theory. Self-nominations are accepted; those who are not self-nominated will be contacted by the committee and asked to submit a resume.

Keep an eye out for a call for submissions and nominations each spring! 

Past Winners:

2023 Winners: Sparrow Potter (Pizan), Mar Leeman (Pizan), Olivia Khangi (Tubman) 

2022 Winners: JJ Akter (Tubman), Allison Panaro (Pizan)

2021 Winners: Kara Burke (Tubman), Jessica Kaplan (Pizan), Drew O'Neil (Pizan)

2020 Winners: Victoria Cooke (Tubman), Jillian Todd (Pizan), Rachel McLauchlin (Pizan)

2020 first graduate with Honors in the Women's and Gender Studies Major: Madeline Reichler

2019 Winners: Mary Rutigliano (Tubman), Kimberly Brennan (Pizan)

2018 Winners: Daniel Kahl, Troy Keith, Skyler Susnick, Felix Laneri, and Emmett Zand Halstuch (Tubman), Isabel Owen (Pizan)

2017 Winners: Jes Heppler and Thomas McCarthy (Tubman), Veronica Taglia (Pizan)

2016 Winners: Alexandra Peraino (Tubman), Jes Heppler (Pizan)

2015 Winners: Rachel Olin (Tubman), Laura Brown (Tubman), Nadine Piazza (Pizan)

2014 Winners: Rena Pazienza (Tubman), Julia Antenucci (Pizan)

2013 Winners: Sarah Hirsch (Tubman), Gentaro Ramadhan (Pizan)

2012 Winners: Catherine Herman (Tubman), Jillian Wolf (Pizan)

2011 Winners: Brittney Walker (Tubman), Bridget Stith (Pizan)

2010 Winner: Sharon Fox (Pizan)

2009 Winner: Fiona Murray (Tubman); Isobel Connor and Katherine Hart  (Pizan)

2008 Winners: Katherine McCarty and Meaghan Colligan (Tubman); Lisa Parisio (Pizan)

2007 Winners: Meaghan Colligan and Elizabeth Lamme (Tubman); Claire Ruswick (Pizan)

2006 Winners: Emily Craver, Amanda Olszowy

2004 Winners: Dawn Griffin, Erin Khouri