Biography

In 1982, the University of Iowa community began an annual gathering, then known as the Celebration of Academic Excellence Among Women, to present the Jane A. Weiss and the Katherine Orne Memorial Scholarships. Jane Weiss was an associate professor of sociology and women's studies at the University of Iowa from 1978 to 1981 who devoted herself to the study of women's issues in the classroom and community. Weiss died in an automobile accident in 1981, and the Jane A. Weiss Memorial Scholarship Fund was established soon thereafter through the University of Iowa Foundation.

In the early 1990s, the Celebration evolved with the addition of more awards and was renamed the Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women. By 2007, seven separate awards were given: the Margaret P. Benson Memorial Scholarship (begun in 2002), the Wynonna G. Hubbard Scholarship (begun in 1993), the Adele Kimm Scholarship (begun in 1992), the Ada Johnson/Otilia Maria Fernandez Women's Studies Fellowship (begun in 1993), the Jane A. Weiss Memorial Scholarship (begun in 1982), the Jean Y. Jew Women's Rights Award (begun in 1993), and the Distinguished Achievement Award (begun in 1994). The Katherine Orne Memorial Scholarship was awarded between 1981 and 1987.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records: