UA Women Who Lead, Inspire

UA Women Who Lead, Inspire

By Amanda BallardUniversity Communications
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Standing west of Centennial Hall on the UA campus, a series of solid stone arches creates a warm, meditative gathering place. The grand arches and brick pavers that line the ground are engraved with the names of hundreds of women.

The unique design and sculptural elements of the Women's Plaza of Honor, designed to represent the stages of a woman's life, create an atmosphere that calls for reflection and remembrance of the women who have made remarkable contributions to the state's history and the lives of many.

In honor of Women's History Month, Lo Que Pasa talked with some of the UA's notable female leaders who are making their mark, in part, by helping improve the lives of other women.

This is just a small sampling of the many inspirational women at the UA. Other women's stories will be featured in a five-part series on the UA Blog.

Since it's impossible for us to recognize all the amazing women who work at the UA, we want to hear from you, too. If there's a UA woman who has made a significant difference in your life, please let us know by sharing your story on our social media platforms. We've begun the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.


Sally Stevens
Sally Stevens

Sally Stevens
Executive Director,
UA Southwest Institute for Research on Women

Stevens' current project, the "Working Poor Mothers of Minors Project," provides substance abuse treatment for working women who do not have health insurance and cannot afford the costs of treatment. In addition, it gives women access to services like medical testing, parenting classes, support groups and assistance in securing safe housing.

To date, the project has enrolled more than 100 mothers, and there are plans to enroll an additional 40 mothers by September.

"Women are often not given opportunities to be successful, particularly those from low income, minority and disenfranchised backgrounds," Stevens said. "As women advance with regard to education, employment, self-efficacy, and physical and mental health promotion, they are more empowered – advancing themselves along with their children, their community and society."

In addition to conducting research, Stevens also directs the UA Southwest Institute for Research on Women. The institute's mission is to provide research, education and advocacy for women's issues pertinent in the Southwest and northwestern Mexico.

Inspirational female figure: "My sister, Jane Turcotte. As an older sister she was – and still is – a role model and a personal advocate. She has always believed in me, taught me things I did not know, encouraged me through difficult times, celebrated my successes, given me unconditional love, laughed and cried alongside me, and has been and continues to be my best friend."

Advice for young women: "First, believe in yourself. Second, cherish your women friends and support each other over the life course. Third, find mentors who will assist you with achieving your life goals. And fourth, always remember where you came from and keep your focus on where you want to be."


Teri Lucie Thompson
Teri Lucie Thompson

Teri Lucie Thompson
Senior Vice President for
University Relations and Chief Marketing Officer

Thompson, co-author of "Tuning Into Mom: Understanding America's Most Powerful Consumer," helped change the way marketing professionals think about marketing-to-mom strategies by promoting moms as "household CFOs" who are in charge of nearly $2.5 trillion in direct spending.

According to Thompson, moms have significant influence on other family members' buying habits.

"Part of the science of marketing is understanding your customer," Thompson said. "Not only are moms often asked for purchasing opinions, but often brands favored by mom tend to be favored by her offspring – from peanut butter to car insurance."

Thompson was motivated to learn about women's voices in the marketplace while working at State Farm Insurance. She also was inspired after reading Marti Barletta's book "Marketing to Women."

"Marti's book was one of the first to articulate the buying power of women by showing how their buying power was moving beyond traditional female purchases like clothing, furnishings and food," Thompson said. "The book's opening anecdote about a female executive browsing a high-end car showroom, only to be asked about her husband, escalated my passion."

Inspirational female figure: "Probably one of the most inspiring for me is Joan Benoit Samuelson, certainly not a household name, but I love Joan because of her work ethic and total absence of 'show-womanship.' Joan won the 1984 Olympic marathon and was legendary for putting in extra work because she didn't have the gift of natural speed. I am a sucker for hard workers who overcome the odds and let their results do the talking. Women like Indra Nooyi and Marissa Mayer intrigue me from a leadership perspective. And I'm watching out for Lavanya Shukla, an entrepreneur and former student of mine, who has set her sights on becoming the next Steve Jobs. I find her vision, willingness to own her dreams, and her drive incredibly energizing."

Advice for young women: "It doesn't get much better than the Golden Rule, but a few simple principles that inspire me are: 'Where there's a will, there's a way.' Speaking of Joan Benoit – she always ran an extra quarter mile on her training routes to get in the habit of not quitting too soon when she raced. Behave like Joan! Cultivate serendipity. Make room in your day for accidental discovery. Try to change your patterns and habits to increase the probability of running into an old friend or a new idea. Build alliances. In this complicated world, strong relationships are vital. (And) leave things better than you found them."


Monica Casper
Monica Casper

Monica Casper
Head of the UA Department of
Gender and Women's Studies

Casper, whose research interests involve women's health issues, has written books and articles on fetal surgery, abortion, contraception, HPV, cervical cancer, breast cancer, genetic testing, environmental health and reproductive politics. She also is the mother of two daughters and managing editor of The Feminist Wire, an online publication that addresses anti-feminist, racist and imperialist politics.

Casper said she has been interested in women's studies ever since she was a young girl.

"When I was 11, I won our small elementary school's spelling bee," she said. "Prior to the regional bee, the local paper did a story about me in which I stated, quite boldly, that I was in favor of women's lib. I've always had a keen sense of social justice and was the kind of kid who would storm out of the house to save a baby bird from mean little boys on the sidewalk."

For her, issues related to feminism and women's rights cannot be met with a "one size fits all" solution.

"I firmly believe it's the responsibility of scholars in gender and women's studies – a field that is as broad and boundary-less as we want to make it – to set the standard for recognizing and claiming diversity within feminism," she said.

Inspirational female figure: "I admire so many women from so many walks of life, but my lifelong hero is my mom, Patricia Struck. She's always been brave, true and strong, but after my beloved stepfather's quite unexpected death in 2012, these qualities have been called to the fore. Though she's lived in Tucson for several years, she's deeply Midwestern in values and scrappy survival skills. She's a former bodybuilder and steelworker, a Chicagoan at heart who, with my stepdad, raised my sister and me to take care of ourselves and to look out for the little guy (or gal). And this, in my view, is feminism."

Advice for young women: "Be yourself. Love your body. Trust your instincts. Think, learn, do, soar. Walk (or run) through your fears. And this too shall pass."


Is there a woman in your life who deserves to be honored? You can help ensure her legacy is remembered with a donation to the UA Women's Plaza of Honor. With a donation, you can choose where her name can be engraved in the plaza. Funds go toward undergraduate and graduate assistantships, research and travel stipends to further faculty and student scholarship, the enhancement of Women in Science and Engineering and other Southwest Institute for Research on Women projects, and visits by leading scholars to teach women's studies. To donate, visit plazaofhonor.arizona.edu.

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