Elizabeth Kiss was installed as the eighth president of Agnes Scott College on April 20 at the school in Decatur, Ga.
In her installation address, she affirmed the value of women’s education in a time when women hold majority in the nation’s coeducational institutions. “Decatur Female Seminary was established in the context of a south still reeling from the economic and social crisis of the Civil War,” Kiss said, referring to the college’s original name. “Col. George Washington Scott, the Rev. Frank Gaines and the other founders were determined to elevate their community and convinced that the education of young women was key to this task.
“Women’s education is key to economic development, to stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS, to population control, to the eradication of global poverty,” Kiss said. “The United Nations identified women’s education as one of eight millennium development goals and emphasized its importance as key to the achievement of all of the others. The evidence is overwhelming about the value of women’s education.”
About 2,000 people gathered to celebrate Kiss’s presidency for a full day of events dedicated to the theme “Stand Up, Speak Up: an Agenda for 21st Century Women.” The ceremony was launched with a procession of dignitaries including 173 delegates from other colleges and universities, the mayors of Atlanta and Decatur, Ga., active and retired faculty and members of the board of trustees — all gathered to honor the new college president,
Following the installation, Agnes Scott hosted a symposium, “Stand Up, Speak Up: Empowered Women Empowering Others” (www.agnesscott.edu/about/p_newsarticle.asp?id=418). Topics covered in the dialogue included the persistence of slavery, ensuring clean water, empowerment through the vote, women’s roles in postcolonial societies and the challenge of continuing discrimination.
