By: Katie Dusza, Contributor
To celebrate March being Women’s History Month, the USA Diversity Committee partnered with the Women & Gender Studies department to host the 2025 Lorch Awards on Monday, March 24.
The Lorch award honors a person who has made a significant contribution to women and who exemplifies the pursuit of liberation and justice regarding sex, gender and sexuality. The Lorch Awards started in 1992 to honor the founder of the Women and Gender Studies Department at Canisius, Dr. I. Joan Lorch.
There are three categories for the Lorch award. The first one is the student award, which honors any selected Canisius undergraduate or graduate student. The second category is the Canisius colleague award, given to any Canisius faculty, staff or administrator. The final category is the community member award that honors a member of the community who is not a current student or staff member.
The 2025 recipient of the student award went to Brianna Nosal for her commitment to uplifting women on and off campus. Her contributions include her work to normalize discussions about controversial issues on campus, such as abortion and sexual health, as well as to create more just environments for all on campus. Receiving the Canisius Colleagues award was Dr. Anita Butera. She was recognized for her advocacy for women, immigrants and marginalized people as an attorney before her time at Canisius as a criminal justice professor. She was also recognized for her advocacy in the faculty senate and her vocalness regarding Palestinian rights.
Finally, the community Lorch award was given to Victoria Pérez. Pérez is the vice president of arts engagement and education at Shea’s Performing Arts Center as well as the co-founder and artistic director of Raíces Theatre Company. Victoria has worked to use her work in the theatre community to represent gender, ethnicity and race.
The USA Diversity Committee also honored 51 women – including students, professors and colleagues – who were nominated as women who inspire, and they received a certificate for their contributions on campus. On their respective presentation slides for their achievements were one to two quotes from the person who nominated them explaining why they did so.
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