By Kristi Lopez
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LEXINGTON, KY (March 24, 1999)
– Pamella Shaw, D.M.D., director of the Kentucky-Appalachian Science Enrichment
Program (KASEP) and the Professional Education Preparation Program (PEPP) at the
University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center Outreach Center for Science and Health
Career Opportunities, received the sixth annual Sarah Bennett Holmes Award. The award is
sponsored by the UK Women’s Forum and was presented during a luncheon held March 24
at the Student Center. Shaw was nominated by co-worker and
friend, Deborah Duff, for her many accomplishments despite facing various obstacles. Shaw,
a single mother of three, graduated from the UK College of Dentistry in 1991. However,
soon after receiving her degree, she was diagnosed with a visual disability that prevented
her from practicing dentistry. She immediately became involved with the outreach programs
at the University and for more than six years has been a mentor and inspiration to
hundreds of young people. She also has been a foster parent and a foster care presenter.
"Dr. Shaw is an inspiration to women of all ages. She is the perfect example of
what can be accomplished in our lives through determination and dedication," Duff
wrote in Shaw’s nomination letter.
The Sarah Bennett Holmes Award is named for the former dean of women at UK, who
tirelessly championed the rights of women. Holmes spent 45 years in the field of
education, 28 of them at UK. She was named assistant dean of women at UK in 1929 and was
appointed dean in 1942. She retired in 1957. Holmes, who was widowed at a young age and
raised four children, inspired young women to pursue their career goals.
Shaw was among 13 female UK employees nominated for the award. Others included: Patsy
Anderson, Ray Boggs, Kathleen Chard, Ph.D., Carla Gale Craycraft, Ph.D., Ann Garrity,
Debbie Kelly, Linda Kuder, Ph.D., Debra Kwolek, M.D., Edythe Tevelson Lach, Debra Nickell,
Ellen Louise Strode and Alayne White.
Also recognized during the program were women who were the
"firsts" in many areas. They included: Jacqueline Noonan, M.D., former chief of
the division of pediatric cardiology for 37 years who was the first woman to chair a
department in the College of Medicine and the first woman and first College of Medicine
faculty member named a UK distinguished alumni professor; Nancy Ray, associate vice
president of the President’s Cabinet, was the first woman appointed to the Cabinet
and developed the University’s first written affirmative action play; Elisabeth
Zinser, Ph.D., chancellor of the Lexington Campus, was the first and currently is the only
woman chancellor at UK; Kim Anderson, associate dean of administration and academic
affairs in the College of Engineering, was the first female faculty member in the College
of Engineering; Retia Walker, Ph.D., dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences,
was the first and is the only African-American female dean at UK.
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