Cheryl McConnell, Ph.D., provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at St. Joe’s, was the first speaker in the 100-Second Lecture Series held in the atrium of the Francis A. Drexel Library on Feb. 13.

The lecture series is part of the 2020 Focus on Women, a yearlong celebration of women and the 100- year anniversary of women’s right to vote started by Kim-Allen Stuck, Ph.D., assistant vice president of Student Success & Educational Support.

With a total of six speakers, Kris Goldberg, chair of the lecture series committee, said the lecture series is an opportunity to highlight prominent women across campus. McConnell spoke for 100 seconds about her experience as a woman in a position of leadership, and the importance of valuing women in society as well as in the workplace.

“Women are not broken; we do not need to be fixed,” McConnell said in her speech. “When you look at the image in the mirror, it is not a broken mirror. It actually shows a beautiful reflective image of confidence, competence and leadership.”

Goldberg said the goal of the lecture series is to hear from women from across the campus community.

“It’s always important for women to be able to speak about their own experiences and for women who are in higher positions to be able to encourage those that are up and coming and looking to those role models,” Goldberg said.

Bernadette Crehan ’20 said she was not planning on attending the event, but stopped on her walk through the library at the crowd of people surrounding the podium. She said events like this, which highlight the visibility of women on campus, are a change from past years.

“To see things like this that are so visible and set on awareness and actually saying something and using their voice,” Crehan said, “it’s very different from when I was a freshman.”

Goldberg said holding the speech in the middle of the library was a way to cater to members of the community who may not have the time to attend a longer panel or discussion.

“We wanted people to happen upon the learning,” Goldberg said. “Some people deliberately came, but there were just as many that were walking through and thought, ‘Oh wow, I learned something.’”

In her lecture, McConnell spoke about how society is always claiming that women need to change in order to be more accepted in their work environments.

“We are wonderful the way that we are, and it is not we who need to change,” McConnell said to the audience. “It is our society that doesn’t value our gifts.”

Julia McQuade ’20, who attended the event, said she has noticed that sometimes women are not always valued in professional settings, but seeing McConnell speak on the importance of women was inspirational.

“It’s really important to see representation in leadership and to see someone who’s at the top of our university speaking out on the power of women was really impactful, ” McQuade said.

As part of the 2020 Year of Women, there are film screenings, art exhibits and book clubs being held across campus. Goldberg said she hopes the campus community will take advantage of these events.

“There’s something for everyone,” Goldberg said. “I would encourage people to find the particular event that really speaks to them and take the opportunity to learn.”

Field hockey Head Coach Lynn Farquhar will be speaking at the next 100-Second Lecture on March 19 in the library atrium.