March 24 - With a clear vision of how to fill the gap left by the retirement of the University's most prestigious award for women, officials decided Wednesday that the best solution is to create two new awards.
The women's award committee - comprising female faculty, staff and student leaders - settled on a proposal for awards that will honor the extraordinary efforts of women and advocates for the advancement of women at UNC.
"We have the option, if we decide it might be best, to create two new awards," said Jen Bushman, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation.
Chancellor James Moeser retired the Cornelia Phillips Spencer Bell Award, UNC's highest honor for women, in December after a group of community members protested what they said were Spencer's white supremacist beliefs.
At the time, Moeser said he did so because many women he talked to said they wouldn't feel comfortable accepting the award, which was named after Spencer largely because of the role she played in reopening the University after it closed during Reconstruction.
Soon after, he formed the awards panel and asked it to assess the need for awards recognizing women's accomplishments at the University.
Members said they found more gaps than they previously expected.
"The Bell Award was oriented toward patting women on the back for contributing to the University," said Diane Kjervik, director of the Carolina Women's Center.
She added that the retirement of the award left the University without sufficient ways to honor women.
