Margaret Bailey receives Edwina Award for gender diversity

‌

Margaret Bailey

Whether through educational programming, research in gender equity or mentoring students, Margaret Bailey has been a longtime supporter of women’s success at Rochester Institute of Technology. She was recently awarded the 2011 Edwina Award for these efforts at the sixth annual Women’s Career Achievement Dinner at RIT.

Bailey, a professor of mechanical engineering in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, is the founding member of the women in engineering program, WE@RIT. The organization hosts numerous outreach and community-building programs each year for middle- and high-school-age girls and provides academic and career support for young women in RIT’s engineering programs. She acts as mentor, teacher and researcher. Additionally, she co-chairs the President’s Commission on Women helping to create strategies to increase the representation of female undergraduate students and improve recruitment, retention and advancement of female faculty at RIT.

The Edwina Award for Gender Diversity and Inclusiveness is given by the Center for Women and Gender to honor staff and faculty that have made gender diversity at RIT a significant part of their work. It is named for Edwina Hogadone, who was appointed dean of the College of Business in 1960, becoming the first female dean at RIT and the first female dean of a college of business in the U.S.

This is the second year that a member of the Kate Gleason College of Engineering has been recognized for efforts to support and advocate for women at the university. In 2010, Harvey Palmer, dean of the engineering college, was recognized for his support of increasing the acceptance, retention and graduation rates of young women in the engineering programs.

Nearly 600 people attended the event on May 2 at RIT’s Gordon Field House. It is sponsored by the Center for Women and Gender, the RIT Leadership Institute and the Office of Alumni Relations.

The annual dinner highlights the accomplishments of female students who have excelled in academics, community service and leadership activities, as well as successful alumnae from each of the colleges. The Women’s Career Achievement Certificate program provides an understanding of leadership as it relates to women by helping participants develop confidence when entering leadership roles or their chosen career fields. Certificates were awarded to: Jodie Chibi, Georgeanne Hogan, Emily Levine, Katherine McCooey, Roberta Ofori, Rauncie Ryan, Molly Sebastian, Victoria Mac Pherson and Yamile Rodriguez.

Alumnae recognized at the event include: Alison Tyler ’97, ’01, technical director, Beacon Converters Inc., and adjunct professor, packaging science; Susan Smith-Hartmann ’89, chief sonographer, Genesee Valley OB/GYN; Lisa Stauch Smith ’85, senior manager, The Camden Group; Jackie Schertz ’83, ’97, practicum coordinator, ASLIE, NTID; Michelle Koplitz ’08, public health analyst, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Service Administration; Paula Yandow-Reilly ’03, lead programmer analyst, University of Rochester; Jenny Cisney ’99, chief blogger, Eastman Kodak Co.; Megan Thompson ’06, ’08, test manager and agile coach, Xerox Corp.; and Cynthia Gray ’07, managing director, RIT and Rochester General Health Systems Alliance.