8th Annual Young Women’s Leadership Symposium to be held at APSU, March 23rd

Clarksville, TN – Have you ever heard of Rosalind Franklin? In the early 1950s, the English chemist, working at King’s College London, produced an X-ray image that led scientists to finally identify the structure of DNA.

Nearly 10 years later, the famed Cambridge scientists James Watson and Francis Crick—not Franklin—were awarded the Nobel Prize for determining that structure.

Today, during the era of #MeToo, more people are wondering why only two percent of women were awarded a Nobel Prize in the 20th Century.

On March 23rd, Austin Peay State University will continue this important conversation on empowerment when it hosts the Eighth Annual Young Women’s Leadership Symposium. The event, which is free for individuals between the ages of 16-24, will be from 8:30am-1:30pm in the APSU Morgan University Center Ballroom.

“The symposium is about building young women’s self-confidence, and this year’s theme is, ‘She believed she could and so she did,’” said Dr. Marsha Lyle-Gonga, symposium organizer and APSU political science professor.

The day will feature several sessions led by APSU faculty and staff and local business leaders, with the goal of empowering young women as they prepare for the 21st century workforce. Some session topics include “Financial Literacy and Strategies to End the Gender Wage Gap,” “Due Process and #MeToo” and “Your Nobel Prize is in the Mail: Women in Science.”

The symposium will end with a lunch, free to attendees, cosponsored by the APSU Reagan Giving Circle and The Network. During the luncheon, Jill Bartee Ayers, circuit court judge, will deliver the event’s keynote speech.

For information on the symposium, such as a list of sessions, or to register, visit www.apsu.edu/polysci/young-womens-leadership-symposium-registration-form