Four University of Michigan faculty members will be honored next month with CEW Inspire Awards for their efforts to support equity, advance human rights, mentor students and junior staff members and advocate for their concerns.

The award recipients embody the spirit and courage, tenacity and innovation of the esteemed leaders for which the awards were named: Carol Hollenshead, Sarah Goddard Power and Rhetaugh Dumas.

All the awards will be presented Feb. 11 at the Center for the Education of Women .

Carol Hollenshead Award

This year’s recipient of the Carol Hollenshead Award is Michelle Bellino, associate professor of education in the Marsal Family School of Education, for her leadership in creating transformative learning spaces in higher education, and sustained dedication to the advancement of educational rights for marginalized populations.

“A cornerstone of [Bellino]’s scholarly work is her research in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where she has directly engaged communities traditionally excluded from formal educational spaces,” wrote Marcela Ortiz G., a Ph.D. candidate in educational studies at the Marsal School, in a nominating letter. 

Bellino has also worked to shape policy at the national and international levels, co-leads the Global Education Discussion Group on campus and co-launched a peer mentorship program designed to support newcomer migrant youth at Melvindale High School in Michigan.

The Carol Hollenshead Award was created in honor of former director Carol Hollenshead’s 20-year tenure at the Center for the Education of Women and honors awardees who have proven that social change is possible through persistent hard work and who demonstrate that one person can make a lasting difference in their communities.

Sarah Goddard Power and Rhetaugh G. Dumas Awards

The Sarah Goddard Power and Rhetaugh G. Dumas Awards were traditionally presented by the Academic Women’s Caucus, which is no longer active. To honor the legacies of Goddard Power and Dumas, CEW has administered these awards since 2018.

Two faculty members will receive the Goddard Power Award this year: 

• Vanessa Dalton, Timothy R B Johnson M.D. Collegiate Professor of Global Women’s Health, associate chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Medical School.
• Shanna Kattari, associate professor of social work, School of Social Work; and associate professor of women’s and gender studies, LSA; and director of the [Sexuality|Relationships|Gender] Research Collective.

Dalton receives the award for her sustained commitment to using her expertise and influence to break down barriers and foster opportunities for women and other marginalized identities. She is the founding director of the Program on Women ’s Healthcare Effectiveness Research, an interdisciplinary platform to address gaps in women’s healthcare that brings together diverse faculty across public health, nursing, policy and gender studies.

Known for her “joyful mentorship,” Dalton has an “extraordinary record as a mentor and sponsor — especially for women and individuals from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine and science,” wrote Dee Fenner, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Medical School, in a nominating letter.

Kattari’s work to dismantle barriers and create opportunities for marginalized students, staff, and faculty, and commitment to equity across disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other intersecting identities throughout their career, garners them the award.

“Shanna has embraced Universal Design as a guiding philosophy and a classroom reality. Their courses allow students to have agency over their learning experience in a way that meets their unique support needs. These choices promote autonomy, agency, and learning access in ways few instructors attempt,” wrote Haylie Miller, assistant professor of kinesiology in the School of Kinesiology, and director of the Motor & Visual Development Laboratory, in a nominating letter. 

Additionally, Kattari offers a mentee-centered approach to the students and colleagues they support. Their influence extends beyond the classroom and university to include consulting on accessibility on a global scale.

Sarah Goddard Power was a major contributor to the advancement of higher education, an advocate for affirmative action and human rights, and a champion of freedom for the international press. A U-M regent for more than 12 years, she worked to advance the position of women and minorities in faculty and administrative roles.

The Rhetaugh G. Dumas award will be presented to Ellen Rowe, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; and Earl V. Moore Collegiate Professor of Music in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Rowe receives the award for her sustained efforts to promote gender diversity in jazz ensemble composition and arranging, and overall commitment to advancing the role of women in jazz. Rowe is the first woman chair of a major university jazz department and among the first woman directors of a university jazz ensemble.

As she was breaking into the music field, the jazz community lacked women role models, but over the years she has successfully advocated for more gender diversity in university and secondary school jazz programs.

“Under her leadership, the U-M jazz program recruited more female students than any other jazz program of a comparable size in the country,” wrote Melody Racine, associate professor emerita of music, theatre and dance, in a nominating letter.

Rhetaugh G. Dumas, a vice provost emerita, was an esteemed leader with vision, insight and wise counsel who had a significant impact on the advancement of nursing, healthcare, and academic programs at U-M. Dumas was the first African American woman to serve as a dean at U-M when she was appointed to that role at the School of Nursing in 1981. She remained dean until 1994, when she was named the inaugural vice provost for health affairs and the Lucille Cole Professor of Nursing.