Outstanding Women and Gender Advocacy Student Award

This award recognizes students who demonstrate active engagement in women's issues and advocacy. Recipients are recognized at a spring program. Their nominators, family and friends are welcome to attend.

If you have any questions, please contact us at pcsw@niu.edu.

The Outstanding Women and Gender Advocacy Student Award recognition process was begun in 1980 as the Women's Student Leadership Awards. These awards were intended to foster the development of leadership among women students, both graduate and undergraduate. For this reason, students who hold formal office in campus or community organizations have been obvious candidates for this recognition.

It has increasingly been the goal of the commission to recognize those students whose leadership may be less formal in nature, who entertain non-traditional aspirations, who have overcome significant obstacles in the process of pursuing their education or whose achievements and contributions might otherwise go unrecognized.

The award title was changed in the fall of 2020 to the "Outstanding Women and Gender Advocacy Student Award".

Eligibility Requirements

Nominees must have expected graduation dates during the award year. Seniors, third-year law students and graduate students who will receive their degrees in December, May or August of the award academic year are eligible. Recipients are selected based on meeting one or more of the following criteria as it relates to active engagement in women's issues and advocacy:

• Engagement in campus and/or in the community related to women's issues and advocacy and/or in ways that advance women's representations:
  • Being a mentor or role model for women
  • Serving on committees and/or executive boards (e.g., a woman student serving in a leadership role in an organization that is dominated by men; a student serving on a committee that focuses on causes that impact women)
  • Participating in organizing efforts
  • Lobbying for policy changes
  • Other forms of engagement on campus or in the community
• Aspirations that advance the representation of women and/or women's issues and advocacy:
  • Studying an under-represented major or minor
  • Creating or participating in a nonprofit organization
  • Writing a blog
  • Other forms of note-worthy aspirations
• Advancement activities:
  • Conducting academic research related to gender or the intersections of race, class, citizenship, gender identity, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, ability or belief systems
  • Participating in mentoring or activism activities
  • Engaging in organizations dedicated to equity for women or women's empowerment,
  • Or other activities related to the advancement or promotion of equity for women

Nomination Process

We invite nominations from students, faculty and staff. Self-nominations are also accepted.

Nomination Form

Deadline for nominations: April 7, 2025