Traveling exhibit, annual luncheon to share history of women in agriculture

Published: September 15, 2022

Article body

An annual event celebrating women in agriculture will include a special traveling photo exhibit this year to celebrate the College of Agriculture at Auburn University’s 150th anniversary.

The 2022 Women in Agriculture Luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center Grand Ballroom.

The luncheon will include a special photo exhibit courtesy of the College of Agriculture and the Auburn University Special Collections and Archives. These photos illustrate the role women have played at Auburn and in the agriculture industry in Alabama since the university’s founding.

This year’s luncheon will feature Kathryn Beasley who will reflect on the early days of women in Alabama agriculture. Beasley has a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Florida State University, and her research focuses on the Progressive Era, women’s history, social activism and social reform.

Her address is titled “Cultivating New Ground: The Early Decades of Alabama’s Rural Women in Home Demonstration Programming.”

“Dr. Beasley’s presentation and photo exhibit will clearly reflect the historical impact that women have had in agriculture in the state of Alabama and beyond,” said Amy Wright, associate dean for instruction in the Auburn College of Agriculture. “This event ties in perfectly with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the College of Agriculture and of Auburn University becoming a land grant institution. The land grant mission of improving the lives of others will continue to guide our future efforts in the College of Agriculture just as it has over the past 150 years.”

Go to aub.ie/womeninag to register. Seats are available on a first come, first serve basis.

For those who cannot make the event but would like to view the photo exhibit, it will be viewable in additional locations. From Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 it will be displayed in Comer Hall at 181 Roosevelt Drive, and on Oct. 3-7, it will be on display in the lobby of the CASIC Building at 559 Devall Drive in Auburn.

Submitted by: Kristen Bowman