51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ

Five members of the 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ community have been granted the 2017 Iris Marion Young Award for Community Engagement. Sponsored by 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ’s Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program and Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, the award annually recognizes 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ faculty, staff and students for their work to advance social causes in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The honor is named for the internationally renowned philosopher and activist for gender equity who served on 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ’s faculty in the 1990s.

This year’s Iris Marion Young Award honorees are:

• , associate professor in 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ’s School of Social Work, researches programs and services for young people, particularly those in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
• Abigail R. Cartus and C. Elizabeth Shaaban, both graduate students in the School of Public Health, are cofounders of 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵsburgh Lead Action Now, a citizen-led group working for lead-free drinking water in 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵsburgh.
• Shenay D. Jeffrey, an outreach coordinator for 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵServes, a University-wide initiative that organizes student involvement with such volunteer opportunities as 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ Make A Difference Day.
• Mary-Katherine Koenig, an undergraduate student studying English and history in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, campaigned for a birth-record modernization law in Illinois and launched a photography series centering on transgender communities in Chicago in 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵsburgh.