Scripps College President Lori Bettison-Varga was invited to attend a White House reception in celebration of International Women’s Day on Monday, March 8, 2010. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama shared prepared remarks with an audience of more than 200 women leaders, students, and other dignitaries.
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright also spoke, and singers Katharine McPhee and Mozhdah Jamalzadah gave vocal performances. Actress Kerry Washington emceed the event.
“It was an honor to represent Scripps College at such an important celebration of women,” said President Bettison-Varga. “The realities of gender inequality make institutions like ours all the more relevant in the 21st century. Scripps College inspires women to think, challenge, and innovate. These intellectual building blocks are critical for women leaders of tomorrow.”
This is the inaugural year of Scripps College’s eighth president, Lori Bettison-Varga. The Inauguration theme is “The Genius of Women.” Throughout the 2009-10 academic year, guest speakers, writers, scientists, artists, and other thought leaders will engage students and faculty in discussions about the transformative power of genius, and how creative and intellectual genius are so essential in today’s changing world, especially from women, for women.
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future. In some countries like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a national holiday. The year 2011 will mark the global centennial for International Women’s Day – 100 years since International Women’s Day was marked for the first time where more than one million women and men attended rallies.