The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa is delighted to announce the winners of this year’s departmental awards. To learn more the scholarships we offer, the alumni they memorialize, and the generous benefactors who support our students, visit our website: https://clas.uiowa.edu/gwss/undergraduate-program/scholarships.

Adah Johnson/Otilia Maria Fernandez Scholarship The Adah Johnson/Otilia Maria Fernandez Scholarship is named in honor of Adah Johnson, one of the first black women to graduate from The University of Iowa (1912) and Otilia Maria Fernandez, one of the first Hispanic woman graduates (1924). It is given to an undergraduate student of color who has taken courses in the Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies Department or whose academic interests include some aspect of women’s culture or experience. This year's recipient is Ashley Morrow from O’Fallon, Missouri, a senior majoring in Global Health Studies and Spanish, with a Latino Studies minor.

Adele Kimm Scholarship The Adele Kimm Scholarship is made possible by a bequest of Adele Kimm in honor of her brother, S. Conrad Kimm and her sister-in-law Hilda Kimm. It is awarded to a graduate student involved in the Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies Department through coursework or service. This year's recipient is Nicole Ann Amato from Chicago, Illinois, doctoral student in English Education in Teaching & Learning, as well as a GWSS certificate student.

Kristin K. Lippke Memorial Scholarship Kris Lippke was a University of Iowa undergraduate student one month away from graduating with a minor in Women’s Studies when a serious car accident changed the course of her life. In her memory the Lippke family has endowed a scholarship to be awarded to undergraduate students majoring in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies or Social Justice. The recipients this year are Ruth Kahssai from Carol Stream, Illinois, a junior majoring in Social Justice and Social Work, with a psychology minor, and Shayn Walker from Parker, Colorado, a senior majoring in Gender, Women’s & Sexuality studies, with a human relations minor.

Stephen Lynn Smith Memorial Scholarship for Social Justice Stephen Lynn Smith (1944-2009) was born in Cedar Rapids and raised in nearby Marion. An anti-war activist, Steve burned his draft card in the Iowa Memorial Union in October of 1965. He was only the second person in the nation to do so after such protest was criminalized by an act of Congress; he was the first to do so on a university campus. For more information see: https://now.uiowa.edu/2012/07/old-gold-steve-smith-following-his-conscience. Established in 2016 by David McCartney and James Petersen, two awards are given to students demonstrating a commitment to the principles of social justice and progress. The 2020 recipients are Peyton Coder from Marion, Iowa, a senior majoring in Gender, Women’s & Sexuality studies, with a social justice minor and Human Rights certificate, and Elizabeth Handschy from Fenton, Missouri, a doctoral student in Anthropology, as well as a GWSS certificate student.

We offer our warmest congratulations to these outstanding students and to the many other impressive students who applied for these awards.