Holmes Awards Honor Outstanding UK Women

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 16, 2011) — Two outstanding women at the University of Kentucky were honored with the Sarah Bennett Holmes Awards recently: Dana Walton-Macaulay, associate dean of students for student conduct, and Louise Graham, W.L. Mathews Professor of Law.

The Sarah Bennett Holmes award recognizes a female faculty member and a female staff member for their contributions to issues that affect women at UK and across the Commonwealth and who promote the growth and well-being of other women. Each recipient is awarded a $1,000 honorarium, and has their name inscribed on a plaque in the UK Main Building.

Walton-Macaulay, recipient of the staff award, has lived in Kentucky since 2004. She is the chief officer overseeing student conduct at UK, and is described by her nominator as "mommy, sister, wife, daughter, friend, runner, attorney, volunteer, and helper." Walton-Macaulay is also a violinist, and is fluent in Spanish.

Graham, recipient of the faculty award, has taught in the UK College of Law since 1978 and served as interim dean of the college from 2008-2009. In 1989 she received the UK Great Teacher Award. Graham has a particular interest in family law issues and has published widely on the subject. She has also served as a consultant to the Jefferson County Family Court Project and to the Kentucky Commission on Child Support Enforcement. Graham has an adult daughter, and two grandsons.

In its 18th year, the Sarah Bennett Holmes Award was created by the UK Women’s Forum in honor of Sarah Bennett Holmes, a distinguished former dean of women at the University of Kentucky. She championed the rights of women and inspired young women to persevere in the face of hardship and to pursue their educational and career goals.
 

The winners and nominees for the award were honored at a luncheon March 10 at the Student Center. The audience heard from keynote speakers Diane Snow and Christy Burch-Epperson, the 2010 Sarah Bennett Holmes Award winners.

In addition to Walton-Macaulay and Graham, the following women were nominated for the Sarah Bennett Holmes Awards this year:

Penne Allison
Debra Anderson
Joanne Brown
Erica Caton
Leslie Crofford
Kristy Deep
Paula Dunn
Rebecca Dutch
Brenda Fahy
Gail Hairston
Anne-Frances Miller
Carrie Oser
Shonta Phelps
Lumy Sawaki
Mitzi Schumacher
Deanna Sellnow
Katherine Semones
Patricia Whitlow
Kathi Zeller