Patricia “Pat” Pierce
Patricia “Pat†Pierce will speak at the Monday, January 25, meeting of the AAUW, Oak Ridge Branch, and she will discuss “suffrage and the effort to erect a Tennessee Women Suffrage Monument at Legislative Plaza in Nashville,†a press release said.
The meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the First Presbyterian Church, Room 102, in the activities wing of the church.
Pierce has been deeply involved in the effort to have the memorial approved, the press release said. On December 15, the Tennessee Capitol Commission unanimously approved the request.
A lunch of soup, sandwiches, and cookies at a cost of $8 will be provided by The Soup Kitchen at 11:30 a.m., with the program beginning at noon. Tea and coffee will be available also. Those attending are welcome also to bring a sack lunch. Reservations are necessary to reserve a space, however. They may be made by calling Mary Uziel at (865) 483-1043 or Marge Congdon at (865) 483-3120. Those wishing to attend were encouraged to call by Thursday, January 21.
Pierce retired from Vanderbilt University in 2007 as senior director of the Opportunity Development Center. Recognized internationally as an advocate of equity and diversity, she is a member of the board of the Women’s Economic Council Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps the Tennessee Economic Council on Women, a state agency that numbers among its members nine representatives from each of the state’s development districts, plus members appointed by the governor and legislature.
The Tennessee Economic Council on Women was created to address the economic concerns and needs of women in Tennessee, such as employment policies and practices, educational needs and opportunities, child care, property rights, health care, and other concerns. Each year, an economic summit is held at which there are often nationally known speakers such as Sandra Day O’Connor.
Those attending the meeting are encouraged to bring personal care items, such as soaps, shampoos, and toothbrushes, laundry supplies, and paper towels, napkins, etc.—items that cannot be bought with food stamps—to donate to the Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties office. Box Tops$ Education coupons are welcome also and will be donated to a school program to buy computers.
The public is invited to attend AAUW luncheon meetings, which are held monthly from September to May, with the exception of November and December, when there is a Green Tea.
AAUW seeks to “advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.”
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