For Immediate Release

May 10, 2006

Contact: Melanie McDonald, director of public relations, 574-284-4579

Top Sports Executive Leads Gender Equity Symposium at Saint Mary’s

NOTRE DAME, Ind.—Saint Mary’s College will host a gender equity symposium for members of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) during the MIAA’s annual meeting on Tuesday, May 16. The symposium will focus on Title IX as it relates to athletics. Title IX is the 1972 landmark legislation that bans sex discrimination in schools.

The keynote speaker for the symposium is Donna Lopiano, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation. Lopiano has been a catalyst for increasing participation of girls and women in sports, and works to educate the public about the importance of women’s health and gender equity in athletics. The International Olympic Committee named Lopiano Woman of the Americas, and Sports Business Journal listed her as one of the “top 10 female sports executives in the nation.” She coached college men’s and women’s volleyball, softball, and women’s basketball. She also served as director of women’s athletics for 18 years at the University of Texas, Austin, one of the top Division I programs in the country.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association awarded a grant to the Saint Mary’s College Department of Athletics to fund Lopiano’s visit.

Saint Mary’s President Carol Ann Mooney chairs the MIAA board of control, consisting of the presidents of the institutions in that conference.

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Reporter’s Note: The symposium runs from 8 a.m. to noon in the West Wing of the Noble Family Dining Hall.

SMC06-25