Susan B. Anthony Awards Ceremony

The Commission for Women (CFW) present Susan B. Anthony Campus and Community Awards annually to recognize a member of our campus family and a member of the local community, whose lives and deeds exemplify the dedication, fortitude, political agitation and involvement of Susan B. Anthony on behalf of women. Anthony forced a nation to recognize human rights, challenged gross inequities endured by women in our society, and taught us that failure is impossible!

This year's celebration we invited Dr. Maureen Linker,  Associate Provost as our Keynote Speaker. 

2024 Campus Award Recipient - Dr. Francine Banner

2024 Community Award Recipient - Dr. Amanda Esquivel 

We invited guests and former CFW members to share special memories over the past 50 years with the University of Michigan-
Dearborn's Commission for Women.

Dr. Francine Banner is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Behavioral Sciences department at UM-Dearborn. She is a prolific scholar who has authored two books and numerous scholarly articles relating to gender, law, and social change; topics engaged across her career include women and political violence, representations of survivors on social media, and military sexual assault and trauma. In 2022 she, along with colleagues, received the UM-Dearborn Distinguished Research Team Award for their research on sexual harassment in higher education. 

Based on her expertise, Dr. Banner has served on several campus and university committees, including the advisory board for the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, the UM Provost’s Detroit Advisory Group, and, currently, as the campus representative to the Coordinated Community Response Team, working to improve policies for addressing campus sexual misconduct. She recently traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania, where she and Dr. Anna Muller led workshops on gender-based violence as part of the U.S. State Department Professional Fellows Program.

Dr. Banner’s passion for advancing social justice gender equity shines through not only through her research but in her service to the campus and community. From 2017-2020 Dr. Banner directed Women in Learning and Leadership (will+), a program for undergraduate students that integrates the Women's and Gender Studies curriculum with leadership opportunities outside of the classroom. In addition to hosting the annual Take Back the Night rally, some of the events in which will+ students engaged during her directorship included a journaling project with young women at Vista Maria center for vulnerable young women, a campaign to provide sanitary products in campus restrooms, and taking part in the 2017 global Women’s March protests. From 2014-2018, Dr. Banner directed and taught in the UM-Dearborn Women’s Prison Project, through which faculty offered college courses to more than 400 women incarcerated at Women’s Huron Valley (WHV) Correctional Facility. She also is trained and teaches in Inside-Out Prison Exchange program, offered at Macomb Correctional Facility.  Dr. Banner is a longtime member of the advisory board for SOAR, which provides educational access for non-traditional students; she has served as faculty advisor to Unchained, a student organization dedicated to anti-trafficking efforts, and advises the Transformational Justice club, which advances anti-carceral initiatives on campus.

Dr. Banner currently serves as expert advisor to the Michigan Humanities Same Mission, Many Stories project, training university students across the state to conduct dialogues with veterans about experiences of military service. She also is involved in anti-poverty work through membership on the Board of Street Democracy, a non-profit legal services organization that administrates Street Outreach Court Detroit, offering homeless individuals the opportunity to resolve civil infractions and misdemeanors through volunteer efforts rather than fines and fees. 

Dr. Banner began her career as an attorney with the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where she practiced corporate law and engaged in pro bono representation of clients in criminal appeals. She is empowered to serve the campus community through many collaborations with UM-Dearborn faculty, staff, and students, and is inspired by the university’s collective commitment to transformative education and community impact. 

Dr. Amanda Esquivel is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She is currently serving at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) as the Program Director for the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering Program in the Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems Division within the Engineering Directorate.

As an NSF funded injury biomechanistic she conducts research predominantly focused on the fundamental understanding and prevention of injuries. A recurring theme in her work is the exploration of injuries disproportionately affecting women and girls. These research initiatives include 1) investigating the use of wearable technology to prevent injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), 2) assessing the efficacy of headgear in traditionally helmetless sport, and 3) examining the head kinematics and neck muscle response to simulated minor frontal perturbations in women. In addition, she has studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research capacity, productivity, and work-life balance in female STEM faculty. 

Dr. Esquivel has supported and mentored numerous graduate and undergraduate students and is dedicated to broadening participation of underrepresented minorities in engineering. She served as the Faculty Advisor to the Society of Women Engineers on the Dearborn campus, which is one of the largest student organizations on campus. Committed to inspiring future engineers, Dr. Esquivel actively coordinates and participates in numerous outreach events. She has engaged with hundreds of elementary and middle school students promoting engineering and science as a career. As Dr. Esquivel carries on with her work, she remains committed to her vision of an inclusive and innovative engineering community.

The family of Susan Cushnier has established the Susan Cushnier Endowed Scholarship in memory of all her contributions to the campus. Susan was a member of the Commission for Women for many years, and the Susan B. Anthony Awards Banquet was one of her favorite events. Proceeds from our event are donated to this scholarship in her honor.

History of the Susan B. Anthony Awards

The first Susan B. Anthony Campus Award was presented at a Luncheon in 1978. The Susan B. Anthony Community Award was established in 2004. Annually, we celebrate the recipients of these awards at the Susan B. Anthony Awards Dinner. The event includes appetizers, dinner, and a silent auction that benefits the Commission for Women's programs, such as the Supplemental Professional Development Fund.

We honor all of the Susan B. Anthony past award recipients.