A member of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s Finance and Administration team will receive a UW System award honoring women of color on Oct. 19 in Madison.
Raazia Riffat, who began serving with UW Oshkosh’s Risk Management team in 2011 and, most recently, served as the University’s internal auditor, will receive the University of Wisconsin System’s 2013 Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award.
Riffat, a 2010 graduate of UW Oshkosh, began her service to the University as an intern in the Internal Audit Office.
In nominating her for the Women of Color in Education Award, colleagues cited Riffat’s commitment to serving and promoting the work of an Oshkosh-based Muslim community.
Riffat “serves as volunteer women’s outreach liaison for the local Ahmadiyya Muslim community chapter, especially working with the women’s auxiliary to promote interfaith dialogue and to refute stereotypes of Islam and women in Islam as portrayed by modern day media,” the University’s nomination states. “Riffat has spoken in a variety of public forums to create awareness and understanding of a Muslim woman’s perspective.”
Riffat also helped organize disaster relief fundraising activities in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the Pakistan flood of 2010. Her other community services include participation in the annual “Servapalooza” sponsored by the Oshkosh First Congregational Church as well as volunteer work at the Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Center.
Riffat will receive the Women of Color in Education Award during a ceremony and luncheon at Lowell Hall on the UW-Madison campus on Oct. 19.
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