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Embry-Riddle Offers Women’s History Month Events

Daytona Beach, Fla., Feb. 17, 2006 -- The Women’s History Month Committee at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will present several events in March with this year’s national theme of “Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams.” All events are held on the Embry-Riddle campus and are free and open to the public.

Thursday, March 2, at 7 p.m. in the Miller Instructional Center Auditorium. Maxine Maxwell’s performance of “Echoes of the Past and Voices of Hope: Celebrating African-American Women” explores the lives of African-American women of strength and courage, including the first African-American female aviator, Bessie Coleman. The event is co-sponsored by the Arts & Letters Series, the Office of Diversity Advancement, and the Women’s History Month Committee.

Tuesday, March 7, from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m. in the Miller Instructional Center, Room 104. Dr. Lance Erickson, a Space Studies professor at Embry-Riddle, will present a Lunch-N-Learn Lecture on the Mercury 13, NASA’s first project for training female astronauts during the 1960s. Free pizza will be provided for the first 30 attendees.

Thursday, March 9, from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m. in the Miller Instructional Center, Room 104. Dr. Donna Barbie, a Humanities professor at Embry-Riddle, will present a Lunch-N-Learn Lecture on “Decoding the Mysteries of Male and Female Non-Verbal Communication,” which is designed to improve our interactions with the opposite sex. Free pizza will be provided for the first 30 attendees.

Tuesday, March 14, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Miller Instructional Center Auditorium. The film Million Dollar Baby will be presented by Touch-N-Go Productions and the Women’s History Month Committee. Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank star in this award-winning drama about a boxing trainer who reluctantly takes as his protégé a woman who needs a sense of family as much as he does.

Wednesday, March 15, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the John Paul Riddle Student Center Cafeteria. The second annual Women’s Expo will provide free information from student clubs like Women in Aviation, the Ninety-Nines, and the African Student Association, from student services like the Career Office, and from local nonprofit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Domestic Violence Center. Students from the Daytona Institute of Massage will give reduced-fee chair massages. Henna tattoos, chocolate airplanes, door prizes, and much more will be featured at the event, which is co-sponsored by the Panhellenic Sorority Organization of Embry-Riddle. Music will be provided by the EaglesFM Radio Station.

Wednesday, March 29, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Miller Instructional Center Auditorium. Dr. Lynnette Porter will present a Dinner Theater lecture titled “The Lost Women: Diversity on Television,” focusing on the critically acclaimed television series, Lost. Dr. Porter will discuss some of our favorite Lostaways—Kate, Sun, Claire, Shannon, and Ana-Lucia—and why these characters not only create intriguing television viewing but also enrich TV’s portrayals of 21st-century women. Free pizza will be available for the first 50 attendees. An associate professor of Communication and Humanities at Embry-Riddle, Dr. Porter is the author of six books, including Unlocking the Meanings of Lost: An Unauthorized Guide, soon to be published by Sourcebooks.

The Women’s History Month Commitee is sponsored by the Office of Diversity Advancement and is co-chaired by Dr. Joanne Detore-Nakamura and instructor Jennifer Carney. Committee members include Dr. Margaret Mishoe and students Sheri Hashemi and Kevin Mock.For more information, contact Dr. Joanne Detore-Nakamura at (386) 226-7903 or detor6ee@erau.edu.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates more than 32,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Extended Campus at more than 130 centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, and through distance learning.