Oct. 19, 2004

Contact: Gordon Ovenshine 724-738-4854; gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

TRAINING YOUNG WOMEN IN ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AT SRU

AUTHOR, SOCIAL CRITIC NAOMI WOLF -- CREDITED WITH LAUNCHING     NEW WAVE OF FEMINISM – TO LECTURE NOV. 11 AT SRU

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Feminist Naomi Wolf, author of a book on the cosmetics industry The New York Times called one of the most important works of the 20^th century, will lecture on ethical leadership at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at Slippery Rock University.

Admission is free for SRU students, $5 for the general public and $3 for senior citizens and non-SRU students. A book signing will follow Wolf’s lecture and question-an-answer session, both events to be held in the Multi-Purpose Room of the University Union.

In her lectures, Wolf examines current cultural trends affecting women and men in different stages of their lives, from the mixed messages that are ingrained in young women about beauty and sexuality, the “hooking up” culture on college campuses and obstacles couples face when looking to start a family.

“Slippery Rock University is thrilled to bring nationally known author and social critic Naomi Wolf to campus,” Interim Provost William Williams said. “So many SRU departments and organizations got together and made it possible for Wolf to visit.” 

Wolf’s 1991 landmark bestseller “The Beauty Myth” challenged the cosmetics industry and its marketing of unrealistic standards of beauty, launching a new wave of feminism in the early 1990s. The New York Times said she had given voice to women of all ages, exploding the social myths that keep women struggling in their fight for equality.

She co-founded The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership in New York, an organization devoted to training young women in ethical leadership. The institute teaches professional development in the arts, media, politics, law, business and entrepreneurship.

Wolf followed “The Beauty Myth” with “Fire with Fire: The New Female Power and How It Will Change the 21st Century” and “Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhood.” Her most recent book “Misconceptions” provides a critique of pregnancy and birth in America.

Event sponsors include SRU’s Women Studies Program, the Women’s Center, Counseling Center, Academic Affairs, the Office of Student Life, the College of Business, Information and Social Science, College of Education, College of Health, Environment and Science, College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts and the departments of English, dance, computer science, exercise and rehabilitative science, modern languages and cultures, philosophy, and sociology, anthropology and social work.

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