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Women of Color will be honored for service in bicentennial ceremony

Amanda Seitz

This year's Women of Color Celebration will be full of new twists and turns to engage all attendees. The event, held March 4 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Shiver Center Multipurpose Room, will once again honor the importance of Black History and Women's History months.

The Women's Center will be sponsoring the event.

"We could not do it without the hardworking committee staff and funding support of a number of offices," Jane Goettsch, the committee's co-chair and director of the Women's Center said. "We are also getting parent, special event and bicentennial funding."

The importance of the bicentennial year is not limited to the funding of the event; it is also the event's theme.

According to Goettsch, the committee decided to feature the bicentennial theme with technology and history throughout the night. Goettsch said women of color have been invited to share their stories and to integrate the long history of women and the bicentennial theme through archival photos, letters and interviews.

A PowerPoint presentation will feature women of color throughout the decades, according to Goettsch.

Some members of Miami University, including one faculty member, two staff members and two students, will be giving testimonials.

"This year's event will be a combination of new things and tried and true things, hoping that returners will find something extra special," Goettsch said.

Goettsch also said she was excited for the dinner that will be served at the celebration.

"One of our special things is a four-course meal through Carillon Catering synchronized service," Goettsch said.

Women of color will also be recognized during the ceremony with two scholarships and a recognition award.

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The Jennie Elder Suel Distinguished Woman of Color Award is also being presented to an active member of the community.

This year's recognized Woman of Color will be Eulin Kuranga, who was nominated by her son. Out of the three nominations, Kuranga stood out for her work at McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford, according to Jacky Johnson, the Women of Color Celebration awards committee chair.

Johnson said Kuranga works as the infection control coordinator at McCullough-Hyde and visits local schools to teach health safety to children.

"She has made it her personal endeavor to clean up Oxford and Miami by picking up aluminum cans and donating the money she receives from recycling companies to local charities as well as purchasing turkeys for needy families during Thanksgiving," Johnson said.

Tickets for the celebration are open to the public. They are $7 for students and $15 for non-students.