EOU honors 'women of vision'

By Dick Mason
The La Grande Observer

Published: March 9, 2004

Rosemary Powers

La Grande -- Three of Union County's best and brightest were saluted Monday at Eastern Oregon University.

Carmen Gentry of Elgin and Eastern professors Rosemary Powers and Tonia St. Germain were recognized as Women of Courage and Vision at a ceremony at Loso Hall.

The ceremony was a concluding event for Eastern's International Women's Week activities, which began March 1.

Powers, a sociology professor, and St. Germain, a professor of gender studies, shared the on campus award. Gentry, the assistant Union County manager of Community Connection of Northeast Oregon Inc., received the community award.

"They have worked to make our corner of Eastern Oregon a better place for women," said Jill Gibian, a professor of Spanish and Latin American studies at EOU.

Tonia St. Germain

Gentry has served as assistant Union County manager for Community Connection for seven years. Community Connection serves the needs of the elderly, low income and disabled.Community Connection has expanded the services for the low income, elderly and disabled significantly during Gentry's tenure. Frank Thomas, Union County manager for Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, credits much of this growth to Gentry's creativity and problem solving skills.

"She finds solutions when people don't think there are any," Thomas said.

Thomas also noted that Gentry does a lot for her community on her own time. For example, she regularly visits the elderly, brings meals on wheels to seniors and serves on the Elgin City Council. Thomas said that Gentry's influence has had a lasting impact on him.

"She has made me a better service provider and a better person," Thomas said.

St. Germain and Powers came to EOU in 1998. Powers has developed many classes for EOU's gender studies program. She is co-founder of the project "Haven from Hunger," which will be addressing the hunger issues facing female heads of households in Union County.

Carmen Gentry

From 1999 to 2003 she served as co-chair of the board of Shelter from the Storm, and in April 2003 she was elected the first president of the EOU's faculty union, Associated Academic Professionals.

St. Germain teaches gender studies and political science at Eastern. Her interest in feminist scholarship began at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., where she studied under Sarah Weddington, an attorney who argued the Roe v. Wade abortion rights case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Weddington inspired her to obtain a law degree.

St. Germain and Powers are friends and have worked together on many projects.

"The words 'women of courage and vision' really represent them well," Jill Gibian said.

Gibian is a member of the EOU President's Commission on the Status of Women and Eastern's Gender Studies Advisory Team. The commission selected the recipients of the Women of Courage and Vision awards. Gibian nominated Powers and St. Germain.

"The reason I nominated them is that I feel that they have created a 'space' on campus where students know they will be listened to," Gibian said.

The space Gibian refers to is symbolic.

"It's a space where they can have open discourse and sharing," Gibian said. "... Students know they (Powers and St. Germain) can be trusted to be advocates for them."

Powers and St. Germain have played important roles in helping EOU's gender studies grow.

"The work of the gender studies program gives us hope by fostering a more inclusive model of discourse," Gibian said.

Contact Information

University Advancement Eastern Oregon University One University Boulevard La Grande, OR 97850 phone 541.962.3740 fax 541.962.3680 email University Advancement