President Ed Ray with recipients of the Breaking Barriers in Research award, Melissa Cheyney, Marit Bovbjerg and Holly Horan.
Oregon State’s second annual Breaking Barriers celebration highlights the impacts women make across campus and in the community through mentoring, research and cultural connections.
Presented by the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, the Office of the Provost and the Office of Institutional Diversity, the awards recognize women who pave the way to help other women through research or advocacy, says Brandi Douglas, assistant director of outreach in the Office of Institutional Diversity.
“These women are teaching and mentoring in ways that allow women to thrive,” Douglas says.
The awards were given at a ceremony on April 22 that included a keynote address by Fay Stetz-Waters, director of civil rights for the Oregon Department of Justice. There are four categories: education, research, community builder and the Harriet “Hattie” Redmond award, which recognizes an agent of change in service of racial justice and gender equity. Faculty women who have completed the promotion and tenure process are also recognized.
The 2019 honorees:
Breaking Barriers in Education:
Mei-Ching Lien. Lien, a professor in the School of Psychological Science in the College of Liberal Arts, created an extensive mentoring program for undergraduate students. The results include peer-reviewed publications with 42 students, 38 presenters at Celebrating Undergraduate Excellence, and 69 presenters at national and international conferences. In addition, numerous more mentees have continued their education to pursue advanced degrees.
Breaking Barriers in Research:
Melissa Cheyney, Marit Bovbjerg and Holly Horan. Cheyney is an associate professor of anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts; Bovbjerg is a clinical assistant professor of epidemiology in the School of Biological and Population Health Sciences in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences; and Horan is a doctoral candidate in biocultural anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts. Seeking to end racial and socio-economic disparities in childbirth, the research team established the Community Doula Program to train culturally and socially matched doulas to be state-registered.
Community Builder Award:
Sandy Goeke. A community partner and alumna of the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Goeke started a nonprofit organization, the International Moms Group, pairing international and domestic mothers living in Corvallis to inspire friendship, language learning and crosscultural interaction.
Harriet “Hattie” Redmond Award:
Adejoke Omolayo Babatunde. Babatunde is an outreach coordinator for the OSU Extension Service and the College of Public Health and Human Sciences. Her initiative, My Hair, My Health PDX, brings community partners together to address health disparities among African American women. Now in its second year, the one-day event includes workshops, dancing, vendors, food tasting and other resources that encourage healthy hair, eating and active living.