International Women's Day 2023
Happy International Women's Day! We are #UMNproud of all of the ways in which women have positively shaped our CLA community. To celebrate, we've gathered a collection of recent stories featuring women who inspire and empower us.
A poet and cultural anthropologist, Asst. Prof. Gabriela Spears-Rico will soon publish her first poetry collection, Deer Hide Elegies. Paying homage to her Mexican farmworker community and Indigenous lineage, her work hopes to inspire resilience, renewal, and healing.

Meet Melanie Johnson, assistant director of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program and academic advisor for African American & African Studies students.

Chelsea Cervantes de Blois (PhD ‘21, geography), winner of CLA’s 2022 Emerging Alumni Award, currently serves as the Lead Climate Security Analyst for the US Department of State.

Mi’Chael N. Wright, an outstanding sociology PhD candidate, inspires others with her passion for digital life, online communities, and advocating for young Black girls in the nuances of both.

Emily Judd recently returned from studying Jane Austen and women writers at Oxford University. As an English major she's found that the opportunities to learn and connect with the world in new and exciting perspectives are boundless.

Grad student Tahmina Sobat co-authored this blog post, which urges the UN and others "to meaningfully engage and support Afghan women’s movements and resistance against the unfathomably restrictive rules of the Taliban."
Support the next generation of women leaders and thinkers
Sara Evans Fellowship in Women's History
This fellowship supports outstanding University of Minnesota graduate students majoring in womens history, helping to carry on the legacy of professor emerita Evans.