Spring 2012 marks the 10th year of the AQ Outstanding Woman Awards sponsored by the Jane Hibbard Idema Women’s Studies Center (JHIWSC). Since its inception in 2002 the event has celebrated female students, staff, faculty, and alumnae who are without exception outstanding in their contributions and accomplishments on the Aquinas campus and in the broader community. The JHIWSC accepted nominations for the period of one month (March-April) and released the list of 2012’s student, faculty, and staff nominees the week of April 16.

According to Dr. Susan Haworth-Hoeppner, Director of the JHIWSC, the awards were “the initial brain child” of Nanette Clatterbuck, Associate Provost, who suggested the event when she was a member of the Women's Studies Programming Board. “Everyone thought it was a great idea,” said Haworth-Hoeppner, “so we have been hosting the awards ever since.” Dr. Kathy Kremer of the sociology and women’s studies departments and winner of last year’s faculty award, sees the event as linked to Aquinas’ Dominican tradition. “I feel like I can unapologetically be a strong woman at Aquinas,” she said. “The Dominican sisters who created this culture are aging, but the path they've blazed continues to benefit women across the campus.”

The awards recognize exceptional leadership and community involvement on the part of full-time Aquinas students and employees, and sometimes alumnae. “What makes the women who are nominated for the Outstanding AQ Woman Award stand out is their commitment to making the college and the larger Grand Rapids' community better places to live,” said Haworth-Hoeppner. “It is clear that they [the women] care about others as demonstrated through the kinds of work they do and the ways in which they interact with those around them.” The winners of the award are the individuals who have stretched their abilities and talents to the greatest extent and whose “impact is clearly evident across many spheres of life,” Haworth-Hoeppner said.

Receiving an award is truly a distinction, as the well-known names of previous winners should indicate. “It was a tremendous honor to have my work as a faculty member recognized - there are so many outstanding women on our campus, it was unexpected,” said Kremer of her 2011 win. Recipients over the last decade include the 2012 Resourceful Women’s Conference keynote speaker Dr. Kelly Dittmar (who won as a student); Cheyna Roczkowski, creator of the Jane Doe Project as a student; Dee Wagner, Secretary to the Dean of Student Affairs ; and faculty members Dr. Kremer, Dr. Michelle DeRose, and Dr. Rebecca Coogan, to name a few. “Nominees and winners have said over the years that they feel honored to receive the award and hope it is a tradition that Aquinas will continue to support,” said Haworth-Hoeppner.

Nominees for the 2012 awards are, in the student category: Paige Shesterkin, Mary Reyna, Elizabeth Ochs, Raechel Wrona, Stephanie Krajnik, Erica Utter, Rachel Kieras, Monica Rischiotto, Hannah Barker, Libby Steffes, and Kayla Berigan; in the faculty category: Dr. Deborah Steketee, Dr. Shelli Rottschafer, Dr. Jennifer Hess, Dr. Amy Strand, Sr. Ann Mason, Miriam Pederson, and Dr. Jennifer Dawson; and in the staff category: Joelle Baldwin, Monica Edison, Elizabeth S. Buyze, Sally Reeves, Sr. Alice Wittenbach, Roberta Thomas, Marnika Brown, Elizabeth Harpold, and Crystal Laska.

This year the awards include a special category inspired by Aquinas’ 125th Anniversary year to honor the 125th Outstanding AQ Woman. The recipient will be Sr. Jean Milhaupt, O.P., Ph.D.

The winners of the 10th Annual AQ Outstanding Women Awards were announced on April 25. Congratulations to Sr. Ann Mason, faculty; Kayla Bergin, student; Monica Edison, staff!