News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Communications and Publications, Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544
Tel 609/258-3601; Fax 609/258-1301
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mary Caffrey (609) 258-5748
Marnia Davis, The Women's Center, (609) 258-5565
Date: January 31, 1997
"Women & Welfare: Policy, Practice and People"
Patricia Schroeder, William Waldman Among Speakers at Symposium
Princeton, N.J. -- Retired Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, now a member of the faculty at Princeton University, and William Waldman, commissioner of the Department of Human Services for the State of New Jersey, will be the featured speakers at "Women & Welfare: Policy, Practice and People," the 7th Annual Barbara Boggs Sigmund Symposium on Women and Poverty.
The four-day program, organized by the Princeton University Women's Center, will run from Wednesday, February 12 to Saturday, February 15. Most events will take place in Robertson Hall at the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs. A student-led discussion of research and volunteer activity will take place on Friday, February 14, at noon in Murray-Dodge Hall.
Schroeder will open the conference with discussion of welfare reform from a national perspective on Wednesday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. Waldman will offer his thoughts on New Jersey's perspective on Thursday, February 13, at 4:30 p.m.
Two panel discussions and a reception will take place on Saturday, February 15. Three scholars will give an overview of research on women and welfare at 1 p.m. At 2:45 p.m., three direct service providers will discuss the challenges of working with women.
The Barbara Boggs Sigmund Symposium on Women and Poverty was established in honor of the popular mayor of Princeton Borough, who died of cancer in October 1990. Barbara Sigmund was known for her advocacy on behalf of women. Before becoming mayor, Sigmund served as a Mercer County Freeholder and helped establish the Mercer County Commission on the Status of Women and the county's battered women's shelter.
The symposium is free and open to the public; no pre-registration is required. Information on the speakers and a schedule are attached.
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Meryl Berman is the director of Community Outreach programs for the University Settlement Society of New York, the nation's first settlement house. Berman is responsible for youth, community development and employment initiatives. She has served on government task forces and published many articles about women and poverty.
Patricia M. Hart is the executive director of Womanspace, Inc., which provides services to victims of domestic violence in Mercer County, New Jersey. Hart is a licensed clinical social worker with expertise in the areas of domestic violence, addictions and women's issues which are the focus of her private practice in Princeton.
Ruth Horowitz is a professor of sociology and chair of the department of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware. Horowitz's books include Honor and the American Dream: Culture and Identity in a Chicano Community and Teen Mothers -- Citizens or Dependents?
Mary Ruggie is a professor and department chair of sociology at Columbia University. Her research interests include comparative social policy, comparative welfare states, and women's issues.
Patricia Schroeder joins the Princeton faculty this spring as a lecturer with rank of professor. She served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 24 years, representing the 1st Congressional District of Colorado. Schroeder was an early supporter of legalized abortion and a sponsor or lead player on several pieces of legislation to improve the health and safety of women and children.
She was also an advocate for advancing the status of women in the military.
Ann Huff Stevens is currently assistant professor of public policy at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. She holds a joint appointment at the Center for Urban Policy Research. An economist, Stevens is also a faculty research fellow in labor studies at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
William Waldman is the Commissioner of Human Services for the State of New Jersey. He manages the largest department in state government and has overseen dramatic changes in welfare policy since becoming commissioner under former Gov. Jim Florio. During Waldman's tenure, New Jersey implemented a change to end additional payments to women who have more children while on welfare. Waldman now has a major role in the implementation of Gov. Christine Todd Whitman's Work First initiative.
Ruth Zimmer is the president and CEO of Women in Need. WIN was the first non-profit agency in New York created to provide shelter to homeless women with children and the first to offer alcohol and substance abuse treatment with on-site child care.