Women’s History Month at Radford ends with reflective reception

Intergenerational Dialogues features an inner circle of one generation of women speaking to an outer circle of another generation of participants.
Intergenerational Dialogues features an inner circle of one generation of women speaking to an outer circle of another generation of participants. | File photo

Radford University honored the close of Women’s History Month with a reflective reception that celebrated the countless women who have helped to create the university’s presence and history.

Students, staff and faculty participated in the 2016 Women’s History Month Closing Reception at the Covington Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. The event titled “Our History is Our Strength” was held on March 30.

“We celebrate women’s long historical struggle in the U.S. and globally,” Moira Baker, professor of English and head of the Women’s Studies program, said. “And we try to continue their struggle for equality, justice and peace.”

The month honors the contributions that women have made in society, including social justice, academia, politics and arts. The Circle of Life Intergenerational Dialogues features an inner circle of one generation of women speaking to an outer circle of another generation of participants. The inner circle described their life experiences of being women at a particular time in history.

“One generation’s struggle gives rise to the next generation’s opportunity,” President Penelope Kyle, the first woman to hold that role at Radford University, said. “For women of all backgrounds, the struggle has been mighty.”

Kyle cited the saying, “Well-behaved women seldom make history,” saying this quote encouraged her throughout her life.

“It is a phrase that reminds us of Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton; of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton; of Rosa Parks and Maya Angelou,” Kyle said. “I challenge you to remember that phrase and consider all the ways you might be remembered. Find your path and take it, and if you have to misbehave on the way, well, you are in incredible company.”