The American Association of University Women, or AAUW, will be hosting a panel discussion on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 in the Jacob Conference Center in Ewing Hall. The panel discussion is entitled “Your Voice, Your Choice” and will be from 12:15pm to 1:30pm.
President of the AAUW Cleveland Branch, Dr. Glendscene Williams, will be doing the overview for the panel discussion with DSU Votes. She stated that the panel is to discuss the issues related to the specific topics and to educate people on the legislation and policies behind these topics, locally and nationally.
The moderator for this panel discussion will be Margaret Swanson. Swanson is the director and librarian of the Instructional Resource Center at Roberts-LaForge Library. She holds an MLIS from Valdosta State University, and an MA in history from the University of Georgia. She has been active in AAUW since coming to Delta State and takes special pride in the institution’s advocacy for women.
Dr. Williams noted that the topics for the panel discussion were chosen due to October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The topics for panel discussion are Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Campus Violence, and Domestic Violence.
The panelists for this discussion will be Attorney Sayward Fortner, District Attorney Brenda Mitchell, and Judge Gwendolyn Thomas.
Attorney Fortner is a law clerk for United States Magistrate Judge Jane M. Virden in the United States District Court in Greenville, MS. She is an honor graduate of Delta State University where she attained a BA in English. She attended Law School at the University of Mississippi and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2007. Fortner also serves on the Board of Directors for the Delta Arts Alliance and also for Delta State University.
District Attorney Mitchell is the district attorney for the 11th Circuit Court District which includes Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman, and Tunica Counties. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from MS College School of Law and her Bachelor of Public Administration degree from the University of Mississippi. She worked as Assistant District Attorney for 15 years prior to being appointed District Attorney.
Judge Thomas graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. She received a Juris Doctorate Degree from the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1976. She has served as Municipal Judge for Rosedale, Cleveland, Gunnison, Pace, Shaw and Beulah, Mississippi.
Dr. Williams said, “This campaign is dedicated to training women to run for student government and to later run for elective offices after college. Women issues cannot be ignored, and the public needs to know how their elected officials voted on these issues.”
For more information about this event, contact Dr. Glendscene Williams at 662-846-4233 or gwillims@deltastate.edu.
