Nearly 200 Whittier College students were acknowledged for their service, leadership, and academic achievements at this year’s Honors Convocation. The annual ceremony acknowledges undergraduate and graduate fellowship recipients as well as academic achievement, scholar athlete, departmental, and service and leadership awards. Click here to see the full list of awardees.
During the ceremony, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Nutrition Science (KNS) Kathy Barlow was presented with the 2017 Harry W. Nerhood Teaching Excellence Award. Named for Professor Harry W. Nerhood, Professor Emeritus of History, the award recognizes overall excellence in teaching. Barlow is the director of the sport management emphasis in KNS and teaches methods courses for elementary and adapted physical education. Barlow is a member of the board of the Excellence Through Exercise Foundation.
2016 Nerhood Awardee and Professor of Political Science Joyce Kaufman was the keynote speaker for the ceremony.
“When sleeping women wake, mountains move,” said Kaufman, quoting a Chinese proverb. Kaufman, who has written extensively on the impact of war on women, shared multiple stories of women she met during her travels to the Former Yugoslavia, South Africa, and Northern Ireland who were dealing with punitive situations and were taking actions to make a difference. “Why are these stories important? These are all stories of ordinary women … They saw something that they believed wrong, and they were willing to take action. I now think that I am a better teacher because of all the good words from those good women.”
