Chestnut Hill College Receives Gateway to Equity Award from the American Association of University Women

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Chestnut Hill College and two faculty members received the Gateway to Equity Award from the Northeastern Montgomery branch of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) at the Philadelphia Area Girls Enjoying Science (P.A.G.E.S.) program held at the College this past April.

The Gateway to Equity Award, recently developed by AAUW, is given to “recognize people and organizations that support the AAUW mission of education and equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research.” Chestnut Hill College was given the award for its involvement in the P.A.G.E.S. program, where the College hosts 6th grade girls from the local area to hear a keynote speaker and get instruction on science experiments from female scientists in the field, with meals provided by the Philadelphia section of the American Chemical Society. The P.A.G.E.S. program targets girls in middle school to continue their interest in the sciences as they get older.

Two Chestnut Hill College faculty members, Kelly Butler, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, and Grace Banks, Ph.D., professor emeritus of chemistry, also received the award. Dr. Banks was a member of the Chestnut Hill College faculty from 1979 until her retirement in 2008 and received the award posthumously.