January 18, 2007
Education Professor Frances Contreras among NW Asian Weekly’s ‘rising stars’
Frances Contreras, UW assistant professor of Education Leadership and Policy Studies, will be among those honored by the newspaper Northwest Asian Weekly in its Women of Color Empowered luncheon series.
The event, scheduled for Jan. 26, is titled “Women of Color Empowered Rising Stars: Honoring Young Women Making a Difference.” Contreras is one of 11 women to be honored in the lunch, plus another 11 receiving an honorable mention.
“She’s a treasure in the community,” said Asunta Ng, publisher of the newspaper and organizer of the luncheon series. She said Contreras was chosen because of the effect she has had in increasing the visibility of the Latino community on the UW campus and for helping to recruit Latinas and female Hispanic students.
“Surely we can do more, and when we heard she has done that, we were thrilled,” Ng said, “because we need more people of color, especially women.” Ng noted news reports that have indicated women often outnumber men in Ivy League schools, saying, “That has not happened to women of color.”
For her part, Contreras said she was “surprised and humbled” by the designation, “to be honored among a whole host of women making a difference.”
Contreras came to the UW in 2004. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1994; her master’s degree from Harvard in 1995 and her doctorate from Stanford in 2003. She also is a member of the citizen’s oversight committee for the Seattle Families and Education Levy, passed in 2004.
Contreras said she is currently researching issues of equity in higher education, ranging from Affirmative Action policy — which was the topic of her dissertation at Stanford — “to more local policies.”
She said through her work and service she has “been able to see firsthand the opportunities to learn that exist now and how external mechanisms can make a change in the educational opportunities of underserved youth.”
Contreras also mentors graduate students in education — students she said are committed to equity and social justice. She said she helps them translate that interest to the academic world. “Exposing them to the fascinating world of research and the fact that research can have a tremendous impact on educational service delivery for underrepresented communities has been a passion for me,” she said.
Other luncheons in the series by Northwest Asian Weekly will be “Emerging Leaders” on May 18, and “Mentors and Community Legacy” on Sept. 21.
The “Rising Stars” lunch will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the China Harbor restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave. N., in Seattle. Tickets are $20 for advance purchase, $30 for walk-ins, with discounts for students. The event is being sponsored by Safeco, Fisher Communications, Puget Sound Energy, State Farm Insurance, Eli Lilly, Bank of America and Mulvanny G2 Architecture.
For tickets, directions or other information, call 206-286-1688.
