04/22/2009

Doris Wilkinson to Receive Lifetime Achievment Award from Women Leading Kentucky

Her academic and professional careers have been built on a series of firsts, so it is not surprising that Doris Wilkinson will receive Women Leading Kentucky’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The professor in UK's Department of Sociology list a number of pioneering efforts to her credit:

• Becoming one of UK’s first African-American students as a part of a historic freshman class that began a few months after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court Decision that helped integrate the institution;
• Founding the “Ukettes” – the first Black organization at the University of Kentucky, which helped facilitate the bonding experience among the African-American females, who could not join the sororities or belong to any clubs or organizations on the campus;
• Being hired by the university as the first full-time African-American female faculty member;
• Receiving the first appointment as the director of “Black Studies,” which she renamed the African American Studies and Research Program.
• Establishing the Forum for Black Faculty, the Carter G. Woodson Lecture Series and the Black Women's Conference;
• Creating the African-American Heritage Trail and many social and cultural exhibits, one of which became the basis of a KET series; and
• Being elected by her peers across the country as the president of the District of Columbia Sociological Society, president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and president of the Eastern Sociological Society.

“This award is an amazing honor,” Wilkinson said. “Occupying leadership roles at so many stages in my long career has been tremendously rewarding. I have thoroughly enjoyed charting an organization’s course, working with teams and committees, offering guidance and advice, planning programs for diverse audiences, and overseeing the budgetary process. In fact, I cannot recall when I have not been in some type of leadership position either guiding and managing an organization or planning a major activity for others. It is likely that my leadership skills were cultivated when I was a Girl Scout and later a “Y-Teen.” 

Janet Holloway, executive director of Women Leading Kentucky, said Wilkinson was the natural choice to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Dr. Wilkinson is truly a pioneer,” Holloway said. “As such, Women Leading Kentucky could not have found a better candidate to receive our Lifetime Achievement Award. She has mentored and inspired generations of women and continues to impact the lives of her students.” The only other Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Women Leading Kentucky was given to Isabel Yates, former vice-mayor of Lexington, in 2006.

Wilkinson, who has a Ph.D. from Case Western University, credits her parents for encouraging her to attend college. Her father even envisioned her teaching at the university someday.

On her particular career path, she credits her mentor and friend Professor Constance Wilson, the Woodrow Wilson fellowship, and divine intervention. As an undergraduate, she was studying English and journalism; then she took a social work class. Wilson recommended her for the fellowship, which was not awarded to clinical fields such as social work, so Wilkinson ended up in sociology.

She has three pieces of advice for women just starting out in their careers or changing careers during these turbulent economic times:

“Follow your basic interests – not because they are marketable but because they are your fundamental aptitudes and interests,” Wilkinson said. “Second, set achievable goals with the right level of aspirations; setting unachievable goals can lead to frustration and stress. Third, always maintain your integrity.”

This advice has served her well – from earning her bachelor’s degree in less than four years even though she had two part-time jobs, to the long lists of firsts she has accomplished while working for four decades in a profession she still loves.

Wilkinson will be honored at the Awards Luncheon at the 10th annual Women’s Business & Leadership Conference, held on May 5 in Lexington.

For more info contact Carla Blanton - carla.blanton@insightbb.com