Columbia College is pleased to announce the winners of the Women’s Studies Program 2007-2008 awards. Helàna Brigman, a junior, has received the first Paula Shirley Women’s Studies Research Award for her presentation, “Understanding the Image of the Empowered Woman in Literature”. This new award was established to honor the first director of Columbia College’s Women’s Studies Program, Dr. Paula Shirley. In addition to helping establish Women’s Studies as a formal academic program at the college, designing and teaching courses and conducting research in Women’s Studies, Dr. Shirley has organized two national Women’s Studies conferences sponsored by the college and has provided constant support of and a clear vision for the Women’s Studies Program. She is an inspiration to all students, faculty, and staff who are engaged in the interdisciplinary field of Women’s Studies.

In addition, the winners of the X.J. Honeycutt Awards are KB Bowman, junior, for her proposal to create a photography exhibit on South Carolina female icons and Megan Brown, sophomore, for her proposal to design and present a program educating teenage girls about domestic violence. The Honeycutt Awards honor Xenia Del Carmen Bandini Honeycutt and James Ray Honeycutt and provides grant funding for Columbia College students to propose and design educational presentations on a variety of women’s issues.