Competition for UC s C-Ring Award Has Grown by Leaps and Bounds
The prestigious C-Ring Award, given annually to an outstanding graduating woman, was presented May 20 to Sarah J. Knight, a fashion design major from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The award recognizes Knights contributions to her three lifes passions: fashion, athletics and improving the quality of life of asthmatics.
At the C-Ring banquet, President Zimpher greeted the student nominees and their guests. Collectively you demonstrate the wonderful diversity found in UCs student body, she said. Your backgrounds, your degrees and your life goals are rich and varied. President Zimpher noted that the C-Ring Award recognizes women who work to improve the communitys quality of life and who feel a responsibility to the greater world. These are women who lift as they climb, selflessly reaching out to other women and girls to help them succeed.
Former recipient Julie Frammer told the assembled guests,"The C-Ring is the oldest continually given award at UC. It is also has the most challenging standards of all university awards." It began as an award to the outstanding senior female athlete. The field has now grown to include all graduating senior women.
Competition for the 2006 C-Ring Award was keen, with 30 worthy contenders. In her remarks at the presentation, committee member Jeanne Smith acknowledged the increasing difficulty faced by the committee each year, saying that the talent exhibited in the young women this year was outstanding. Each year the C-Ring nominations include the cream of the crop of that years graduating women.
Recipient Sarah Knight is graduating with a BSD in fashion design. She is a member of the National Collegiate Honor Society, Golden Key Honorary, Presidential Student Service Award Scholar and DAAP Pella Alumni Scholar. She is also the Bearcat band feature twirler and a mentor of Fashion Design students. Knight initiated a Title IX program at her co-op company, Nike, enlisting 200 other women, developing a curriculum and speaking on the importance of Title IX for women in sports. Upon graduation, Knight will become a sports wear designer for Target.
Knight has paid more attention to the C-Ring Award as she got older. I never thought to put myself in those womens shoes because I never thought I would be standing with them today, she says. It truly is an amazing feeling to stand among great women as I leave this University.
From one garment to another, she stands in the shoes of her predecessors in part because of her accomplishments with accessorizing. One of Knights specialties is in designing athletic gear that will accommodate inhalers for athletes with asthma like her. Many of us have seen Knight in action the last few years by attending a UC football game.
In fact, Knight is one of four UC DAAP students chosen by Target Corporation and the Council of Fashion Designers of America to work in the assistant designer program. Ten students were finalists nationally in the prestigious business/design competition.
This award is absolutely an amazing surprise, says Knight. It is truly a dream come true. And the best part about such an amazing award is that it is given to honor the work I have done for the university and for women. And it is truly the best reward to know that people appreciate what you are doing for them.
Her work experience includes working for
., during the summer of 2005. She was chosen by Nike as a result of her athletic apparel designs. Knights designs for Target were slightly different from those she created for Nike, focusing on lifestyles of busy women who want to quickly make the transition from working to working out. Knight was also picked this winter as one of UCs 100
.
I love this university and have done my best to take it all in in the five years I have been here, Knight says. In my time at UC, I was able to have great career experience though co-op and wonderful friendships through student organizations, and I cannot be more grateful to this university and what it has given me.
As I head toward Target in July, I leave here with a heavy heart but a mind full of memories I will never leave behind. I know I will look back forever and know that Im the person I am today because of the University of Cincinnati.
C-Ring Committee Members:
- Jane S. Anderson adjunct associate professor, McMicken College of Arts & Sciences political science
- Julie Burdick director of pre-admissions, College of Engineering
- Lanthan D. Camblin professor, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
- Catherine C. Castillo director of business affairs, UC Health Services
- Stacy L. Downing program director, African American Cultural and Research Center
- Cheryll Dunn associate dean, College of Applied Science
- Sophia Dziegielewski director, School of Social Work
- David J. Edelman professor and director, DAAP School of Planning
- Lou Ann Emerson associate dean, College of Nursing
- Julie A. Flammer director of business affairs, finance Office of Vice President, former C-Ring winner
- Kylie Giesken program manager, UC Wellness Center
- Lisa Hogeland associate professor, McMicken College of Arts & Sciences womens studies and English
- Letitia Costilla Karuppan, program coordinator, student activities, leadership and development
- Bleuzette Marshall director of development, student affairs and services, UC Foundation
- Kimberly McGinnis-Hemphill senior academic advisor, College of Business
- Lisa H. Newman field service professor and director of undergraduate studies, McMicken College of Arts & Sciences communications
- Barbara Rinto director, UC Womens Center
- Liliana Rojas Guyler assistant professor, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
- Lillian S. Santa-Maria university ombuds
- Ken Simonson academic director of Emerging Ethnic Engineers, College of Engineering
- Jeanne Smith campus minister, Wesley Foundation
- Carney Sotto visiting instructor, College of Allied Health Sciences
- Deborah S. Weinstein director of business affairs, student affairs and services
- Tina Whalen chair of rehabilitation sciences, College of Allied Health Sciences
C-Ring Honorary Members:
- Karen K. Faaborg vice provost, faculty affairs
- Karen L. Gould dean, McMicken College of Arts & Sciences
- Jane E. Henney vice president and provost Academic Health Center
- Elizabeth C. King dean, College of Allied Health Sciences
- Judith S. Koroscik dean, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
- Andrea R. Lindell dean, College of Nursing
- Victoria A. Montavon dean, University Libraries
- Kristi A. Nelson senior vice provost, Academic Planning
- Dolores Y. Straker dean, Raymond Walters College
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