OXFORD, Miss. — Four women from the University of
Mississippi are included in this year’s class of a
statewide honor coordinated by the city of Madison Chamber
of Commerce.
Recently recognized as 2008 Dynamic Women of Mississippi
from UM were faculty members Nancy Bercaw and Kirsten
Dellinger and staff members Mary Harrington and Traci
Mitchell.
In its second year, the recognition program seeks to
annually spotlight women statewide for enhancing the
state’s national and international prominence. They are
chosen from the fields of business, government, the arts,
education, health care and community service.
The 25 honorees this year are featured in a desk calendar
produced by the chamber. The calendar has the late Pat
Fordice, former first lady, on its cover.
The Ole Miss honorees were nominated by UM’s Office of the
Chancellor, Office of the Vice Chancellor for University
Relations and Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender
Studies. All four women served on a subcommittee of the
Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women that
authored the UM Pay Equity and Advancement Report 2007. The
nomination included the statement: “They have demonstrated
superb university service in this endeavor as well as in
other efforts on our campus.”
Following are recent highlights of the honorees’ careers:
- Nancy Bercaw, associate professor of history and Southern
studies, chairs the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status
of Women. As a member of the commission, she revised the
university’s Stop-the-Clock policy and is drafting a
Parental Leave Policy for faculty and staff. She has
contributed time and service to progressive initiatives,
including the William Winter Institute for Racial
Reconciliation and ALLIES, the safe-space program for gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Her research
reflects her interest in social rights. Her first book,
published in 2003, is titled “Gendered Freedoms: Race,
Rights, and the Politics of the Household in the
Mississippi Delta, 1861-1875” (University Press of
Florida). - Kirsten Dellinger, chair and associate professor of
sociology and anthropology, is the first woman to chair a
social sciences department at UM. She is active in campus
and national organizations that promote gender equality.
She serves on the Chancellor’s Commission and on the
advisory committee of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and
Gender Studies. Nationally, she is a member of the
editorial boards of the journals Gender & Society and
Social Problems, as well as the Council of the Sex and
Gender section of the American Sociological Association. - Mary Harrington, director of Institutional Research and
Assessment, has held leadership positions on the Staff
Council, the Chancellor’s Commission and several
professional organizations. Her office performed the data
collection and analysis of pay equity at UM. - Traci Mitchell, associate director of the S. Gale Denley
Student Media Center, chaired the Chancellor’s Commission
in 2006-07. She formerly served as president of the Staff
Council, board member of the William Winter Institute for
Racial Reconciliation and as a member of numerous
university committees.
Dynamic Women of Mississippi calendars are available at $10
each at the Madison Chamber of Commerce or by calling
601-856-7060.