The Women’s Society of Washington University’s (WSWU) annual membership meeting took on added poignancy this year.
Harriet K. Switzer, Ph.D., secretary to the Board of Trustees since 1980 and University coordinator of the society since 1986, is retiring from the University June 30. She was recognized at the society’s April 11 meeting in the Ann W. Olin Women’s Building Formal Lounge.
“For exactly half of our existence, Harriet has been our guide, mentor, advocate, colleague and friend,” said Kim Eberlein, president of the society, which was founded in 1965. “When Chancellor [William H.] Danforth asked her to assume this role in 1986, he could not have made a more astute choice. No doubt he recognized several essential qualifications, which have been invaluable to Harriet’s success and, in turn, to that of the Women’s Society.”
Eberlein continued, “Her interest in promoting the growth of women, her consummate scholarship and her exceptional leadership skills has each been critical to the evolution of the Women’s Society over the past two decades, a period in which the role of women in society has been in a continual state of flux.”
In recognition of Switzer’s legacy of leadership, the society honored her with an endowment campaign to add to the scholarship fund toward the goal of $200,000. Based on the campaign, two full-tuition Elizabeth Gray Danforth Scholarships could be awarded to deserving community college or junior college students.
The Women’s Leadership Award was renamed the Harriet K. Switzer Leadership Award effective with this year’s winner. Switzer received a clock identical to that given the award winners, as well as a tribute box containing greetings and memories from past and present society members.
“Nothing could have made me happier than to know that, in some small way, I am playing a role in enhancing the Elizabeth Gray Danforth Scholarship Endowment,” Switzer said, following remarks from Chancellor Emeritus Danforth, M.D., and Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. “I never would have dreamed that we would be able to offer not just one, but two life-transforming scholarships each year — this is truly exciting!
“I take with me into ‘the next phase of my life’ the comfort of knowing that Ida Early is my successor,” she added. “She is a beautiful, talented and very special woman whom I admire and whom many of you know well. Ida knows the University from tip to toe. As a member of the development team of the University for more than 25 years, she has watched WSWU grow and mature. Mark [Wrighton] could not have chosen a better person.”
At the meeting, the Harriet K. Switzer Leadership Award was bestowed on senior Lorin Kline, making her the 15th recipient of the leadership award.
Kline received a cash award of $500, as well as a silver clock inscribed with the quote from the English writer Virginia Woolf: “I should remind you how much depends upon you and what an influence you can exert upon the future.”
Kline carries a 3.57 grade-point average in the philosophy-neuroscience-psychology program in Arts & Sciences. She has worked in various positions in Leadership Through Service; co-founded the Alliance of Students Against Poverty and the Coalition for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship; and held several positions with the Alpha Chi Omega National Co-ed Community Service Fraternity.
In 2006, Kline was the only undergraduate to receive the Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award.
Following the presentation to Kline, Laura Anne Booth and John Joseph Coveyou, students at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, received Elizabeth Gray Danforth Scholarships to further their education at WUSTL.
Booth carries a 4.0 GPA and is described as having an “insatiable desire to create humorous experiences with people balanced with an incredible desire to learn, to analyze, to know history, to seek adventure, to understand people and to communicate with them effectively. [She is] dedicated, enthusiastic, [has a] true desire to learn and the discipline to progress quickly; her work stands out among that of her peers.”
She plans to attend the College of Art this fall and is interested in furthering her education in graphic design and in international relations.
Coveyou carries a 3.94 GPA and is described as having an “innate ability to overcome hurdles and succeed and is compassionate about the sufferings of disadvantaged people throughout the world. [He is] a student every professor hopes to have.”
Self-employed as a painter and carpenter, Coveyou served in the Army National Guard, where he performed law enforcement missions for 20 months and was deployed for Hurricane Katrina relief. He plans to study political science and international studies, both in Arts & Sciences, beginning this fall.
Following the presentations, the meeting adjourned to Graham Chapel for the Assembly Series Women’s Society Adele Starbird Lecture, given by civil rights activist Minnijean Brown Trickey.