Women’s History Month programs during March at University of the Pacific include speakers, panel discussions, networking and more in events that were coordinated by several campus groups.

Professor Jennifer Helgren, chair of the College of the Pacific’s history department, is collaborating with ASuop, Intercultural Student Success and others to coordinate Pacific’s Women’s History Month.

“Pacific has tended to have different silos developing their own history events. This was the first year that we decided to coordinate one calendar so that everyone could find all the information in one spot,” Helgren said.

Katherine Marino, a history professor at UCLA who specializes in Latin American and United States women’s history, kicked the March events with a presentation on “Feminism for the Americas” on March 3.

Marino is an Organization of American Historians distinguished lecturer. She spoke about some of the early 20^th century challenges, confrontations and successes on issues of feminism in the United States and Latin American countries.

Later this month, Pacific’s 20th Annual Women of Distinction Awards will be presented at 3:30 p.m. on March 26 in a virtual ceremony. Helgren said the awards recognize women in the community and at Pacific who have made significant advancements in gender equity or demonstrated public leadership. Nominations for the 2020 Women of Distinction Awards were accepted through March 10.

Women’s History Month calendar is posted and will be updated as new events are finalized.

Women’s History Month virtual events include:

• “My identity is my super power,” watch party for America Ferrera’s Ted Talk, 4 p.m., March 17
• Women in STEM panel and discussion, 3:30 p.m., March 19
• Through the gender lens: salary negotiation, 3:30 p.m., March 22
• Empowering APID women conversation, 4 p.m., March 23
• DEI Dialogue, special guest to be announced, 3:30 p.m., March 25
• Black Student Success meet and greet, Black women in STEM, 4:30 p.m., March 25

Pacific also is creating a recommended films list for Women’s History Month. The list will be published soon. Helgren notes an advantage of the online format this year is that “We get people from all kinds of different places who don’t have to travel.”

Helgren said her work is motivated by a quote from Gerda Lerner, a historian and advocate for women’s history: “Women’s history is women’s rights, an essential, indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision.”

Helgren encourages students to take part in the events.

“This is a great place to start. Most of these events are geared toward undergraduates,” she said. “It’s a great place to expand your learning opportunities and get out of the classroom for a bit.”

Check out the Jewish Women’s Archive, the National Women’s History Museum, and womenhistorymonth.gov for more information.