Assistant professor earns Addams award
Honor given for service to girls and women, to highlight role model
Luke Anderson
Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Campus News
Pamela Forman, assistant professor of sociology, will receive the Jane Addams Outstanding Service Award from the Women in the Profession Committee of the Midwest Sociological Society April 2 to 5 in Iowa, the first UW-Eau Claire faculty member in her field to do so.
The award recognizes service to girls and women who have been traditionally under-rewarded in society. It was established to highlight positive role models who advance women's issues, causes or status.
"I was really surprised," Forman said. "I always think … that people get these awards after doing work for 20 or 30 years … It's really a collaborative effort, and indeed it shouldn't just come to me."
Melissa Bonstead-Bruns, chair of the sociology department, thought Forman's work fit well, and recommended Forman for the award. After nomination letters were written by several people, Forman found out she had won the award in February.
"I was very excited (for Pam)," Bonstead-Bruns said. "It is a great honor and it's very well deserved."
Forman received the award for her work with the Adventure Girls program and involvement as an adviser to the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) group on campus.
"I'm both someone who wants to empower people and youth, and I want the city of Eau Claire to be a better place for LGBT people to exist and coexist with everyone," she said.
Adventure Girls is a collaborative between Eau Claire and Longfellow Elementary School, which started in 2006. It has developed into an eight-week afternoon program, with girls participating in activities such as the high ropes course, kayaking, scuba diving, hiking and gymnastics.
"These are kids at the poorest elementary school in Eau Claire and also the most racially and ethnically diverse," Forman said. "We're really not a tutoring program. We are something that is getting a lot of people in this community involved."
The idea of the program, Forman said, is to match young girls with Eau Claire students. The university students hang out with the kids every Wednesday and meet with the girls an additional time at school. Forman said the college students provide mentorship and reinforce what they are learning through Adventure Girls.
The award recognizes service to girls and women who have been traditionally under-rewarded in society. It was established to highlight positive role models who advance women's issues, causes or status.
"I was really surprised," Forman said. "I always think … that people get these awards after doing work for 20 or 30 years … It's really a collaborative effort, and indeed it shouldn't just come to me."
Melissa Bonstead-Bruns, chair of the sociology department, thought Forman's work fit well, and recommended Forman for the award. After nomination letters were written by several people, Forman found out she had won the award in February.
"I was very excited (for Pam)," Bonstead-Bruns said. "It is a great honor and it's very well deserved."
Forman received the award for her work with the Adventure Girls program and involvement as an adviser to the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) group on campus.
"I'm both someone who wants to empower people and youth, and I want the city of Eau Claire to be a better place for LGBT people to exist and coexist with everyone," she said.
Adventure Girls is a collaborative between Eau Claire and Longfellow Elementary School, which started in 2006. It has developed into an eight-week afternoon program, with girls participating in activities such as the high ropes course, kayaking, scuba diving, hiking and gymnastics.
"These are kids at the poorest elementary school in Eau Claire and also the most racially and ethnically diverse," Forman said. "We're really not a tutoring program. We are something that is getting a lot of people in this community involved."
The idea of the program, Forman said, is to match young girls with Eau Claire students. The university students hang out with the kids every Wednesday and meet with the girls an additional time at school. Forman said the college students provide mentorship and reinforce what they are learning through Adventure Girls.
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