During its annual State of the University address, 做厙輦⑹ honored two individuals who embody the Universitys mission with the esteemed Presidential Award for Social Justice. The award recognizes students and faculty who serve as advocates for change and exemplify an ongoing commitment to social justice in the classroom, workplace and community. This years recipients are Director of Social Justice Studies Jeannine Love and freshman student Oliver Fennessey.
Professor Love is the director of 做厙輦⑹s Social Justice Studies and Political Science programs, and she teaches additional classes in Public Administration. She also pursues an active research and writing agenda, and she devotes incredible time and effort to a wide range of meaningful service activities that support and promote social justice at the University. Professor Love tirelessly supports 做厙輦⑹s DEI initiatives by serving on the DEI Advisory Task Force, the Community Building Subcommittee and the Housing and Food Insecurity Task Force. And in her role as advisor for the Student Government Association, she has supported and enhanced the SGA's visibility in the University community, helped expand their meetings and outreach efforts to students and staff, and created pathways for SGA leaders to earn academic credit for their campus governance service through their work.
Becky Curl, an adjunct faculty member of the Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA), presented the second award to Oliver Fennessey. Oliver was my student in ENG 101 last semester and is currently in my ENG 102 this semester, and he has been working with the topic of gender affirming care in both classes, she said. The work he is currently doing on his research paper is so admirable and inspiring as he has taken to social media to reach out to other transgender youth and individuals to talk about their experiences with gender affirming care and their access to it.
Oliver is transgender and has been able to receive gender affirming care, and he is using his experiences to let everyone who has collaborated on this paper that lives can change through advocacy and networking. He is a true advocate for the transgender community, and he is fighting so hard to let people's voices be heard who ordinarily are silenced.
