Troy, N.Y. —  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson will serve as honorary chair for the National Women’s Hall of Fame 2005 Induction Weekend, Oct. 7 and 8, in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

The 2005 inductees include: Betty Bumpers, former first lady of Arkansas, health and peace advocate; United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, first First Lady ever to be elected to the United States Senate and New York state’s first woman senator; Dr. Rita Rossi Colwell, first woman and first biologist to head the National Science Foundation; and Maya Y. Lin, architectural designer of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, and other commemorative installations. Six historically distinguished women will be honored posthumously. They are: Florence Ellinwood Allen, Ruth Fulton Benedict, Mother Marianne Cope, Patricia Locke, Blanche Stuart Scott, and Mary Burnett Talbert.

According to the National Women’s Hall of Fame, inductees are selected by a national panel of judges for their outstanding contributions to the arts, athletics, business, education, government, humanities, philanthropy, and science. President Jackson was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1998.

This year’s Induction Weekend includes a gala reception Friday evening, Oct. 7, an induction luncheon on Saturday, Oct. 8, followed by the induction ceremony, beginning at 1:30 p.m., at the New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls. A closing reception will follow at the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

About the National Women’s Hall of Fame
The National Women’s Hall of Fame, founded in 1969, is the oldest national institution dedicated to recognizing and honoring in perpetuity the significant achievements of individual American women. Located in historic Seneca Falls, the site of the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848, the Hall is a not-for-profit educational institution whose programs include inductions of distinguished American women, educational activities, and special exhibits and events. The October 2005 Induction will bring the total of Hall inductees to 217 women. The National Women’s Hall of Fame is supported by its members, corporations, foundations, and individual benefactors.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu