The University of Wisconsin System has announced the recipients of the 2015 Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award and the recipients of the Dr. P.B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ People recognition.

The Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award is an annual honor given to faculty, staff, students, or community members to recognize their contributions to diversity and the status of women within the UW System.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the award.

The 2015 Outstanding Women of Color in Education honorees are:

• Renée Gralewicz, Associate Professor, Anthropology, UW Colleges (UW-Fox Valley )
• Dandrielle Lewis, Assistant Professor, Mathematics, UW-Eau Claire
• Crystal Chevalier, 4-H Youth Development Educator and Co-Department Head, Menominee County, UW-Extension
• Idella Yamben, Entrepreneurial Consultant and Program Manager for Ideadvance Seed Fund, Division for Business and Entrepreneurship, UW-Extension
• Juliet Cole, Associate Director, Institute for Learning Partnership, UW-Green Bay
• Xia Vang, Financial Aid Counselor, UW-La Crosse
• Heather Johnson, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, UW-Madison
• Earlise Ward, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, UW-Madison

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• Michelle Lopez-Rios, Associate Professor, Theatre, Peck School of the Arts, UW-Milwaukee
• Sylvia Carey-Butler, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Support of Inclusive Excellence, Center for Equity and Diversity, UW Oshkosh
• Adrienne Viramontes, Associate Professor, Communication, UW-Parkside
• Yunmei Reeder, Director, Confucius Institute, UW-Platteville
• Hli Vang, Director, Pan-Asian Student Services, Augsburg College, and Alumni Advisory Board Member, UW-River Falls
• Ka Lia Smith, Financial Aid Advisor, UW-Stevens Point
• Doris Strehlau, Office Operations Associate, Memorial Student Center, UW-Stout
• Simonita Perales Simkins, Graduate Student (now Alumna), Co-Founder and Past President, Hispanic Organization/Organización Latino Americana (HOLA), UW-Superior
• Ozalle Toms, Assistant Professor, Special Education, UW-Whitewater

UW institutions submit nominations for the awards, which highlight each recipient’s contributions to diversity, women’s studies scholarship or activism, or to improving the status and climate for women, particularly women of color.

The P.B. Poorman Award was established to publicly recognize UW System faculty, staff, students, or community members for their excellence in advocacy, research, teaching or service on behalf of the LGBTQ communities.

The award honors the memory and legacy of Dr. Paula B. Poorman, a faculty member at UW-Whitewater who played an instrumental role in the foundation of the UW System’s Inclusivity Initiative. This year marks the expansion of the P.B. Poorman Award from a single recipient for the entire UW System to honoring a recipient from each institution.

The honorees for the 2015 Dr. P.B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ People are:

• Lisa Hager, Associate Professor, English, UW Colleges (UW-Waukesha)
• Christopher Jorgenson, Director, Women’s & LGBTQ Resource Center, UW-Eau Claire
• Stacie Christian, Coordinator, Inclusive Excellence & Pride Center, UW-Green Bay
• Jay Lokken, Senior Major Grants Officer, University Advancement, UW-La Crosse

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• Gabriel Javier, Director of LGBT Campus Center and Assistant Dean of Students, UW-Madison
• Roy Badger, Project Manager, University Information Technology Services, UW-Milwaukee
• Liz Cannon, Director, LGBTQ Resource Center, UW Oshkosh
• Kim White, Advisor, Advising & Career Center, UW-Parkside
• Todd Savage, Associate Professor, Counseling and School Psychology, UW-River Falls Andrew Stoner, Assistant Professor, Communication, UW-Stevens Point
• Jeanne Foley, Professor, Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, UW-Stout
• Debbie Cheslock, Student Program Manager for Gender Equity Resource Center, UW-Superior
• Cynthia Konrad, LGBT Coordinator, Student Affairs and Academic Affairs, UW-Whitewater

UW institutions submit nominations for the awards, which highlight each recipient’s contributions to diversity, equity and Inclusive Excellence. Those contributions may include advocacy, activism or scholarship that has fostered social justice and organizational change; positive transformation within their institutions and/or community to achieve the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and efforts to improve the climate for and visibility of LGBTQ people.

Recipients for both awards will be formally recognized on Oct. 9 in Madison at an awards ceremony and luncheon.

Learn more:

• UW System honors Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award recipients 
• UW System honors Dr. P.B. Poorman Award recipients for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LBGTQ People