Franklin College hands out 'Women of Distinction' awards

FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Center of Diversity and Inclusion at Franklin College recently hosted the annual Women of Distinction Awards in recognition of National Women’s History Month. The theme for this year’s event was “Legacy: What it Means to Set Roots.”

The event was the 11th annual celebration of women who have achieved, overcome, and blazed a trail for others through their professional leadership, volunteer efforts, and civic and campus involvement.

Nominees and guests enjoyed a celebratory brunch on Wednesday, March 11, where they had the opportunity to support one another and hear from Atlanta-based keynote speaker Nadine Lucate-Pierre, Ph.D., an accomplished educator, principal consultant, and advocate for transformative change in education and community spaces.   

Each year, the Franklin College community is invited to nominate outstanding women on campus, as well as members of the local community, for this distinguished honor. A panel of judges selects a winner in each of the four categories: student, faculty, staff, and community member.

Marlisha Marcellin, Ph.D., director of the Center of Diversity and Inclusion, and Kalyn Johnson, assistant director of the Center of Diversity and Inclusion, organized the event and presented the awards.

Here are the winners in each category and why they were recognized:

• Student: Ne-Yocike Collins from Franklin, a junior majoring in software engineering, for going above and beyond to revive Sister to Sister, a campus organization, while juggling classes, work, and being a mom
• Faculty: Susan Crisafulli, Ph.D., of Franklin. for growing the local Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which fosters a love of reading by mailing a monthly free book to Johnson County children from birth to age 5
• Staff: Sarah Summers, Ph.D., of Franklin, for tailoring professional development programming for faculty and her impact on students by organizing/facilitating the First Year Seminar course annually
• Community Member: Tina McIntosh, of Indianapolis, for founding Joy’s House, which provides adult day services and caregiver support, and growing it into a national model for adult day services

The public celebration of women’s history in the United States began in 1978 as “Women’s History Week.”  In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to an entire month, and March was declared Women’s History Month.