[424] MTSU panel discussion focuses on women in political arena March 20

MURFREESBORO — Some of the key players in local governments will talk about the climate for women in politics at a forum at MTSU.

“Serving the Local Community: Women in Murfreesboro City and Rutherford County Governments,” a panel discussion with five influential local women officials, is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 20, in MTSU’s Tom Jackson Building.

Dr. Ayne Cantrell, MTSU professor emerita, will moderate. The panelists will be:

• Laura Bohling, Circuit Court clerk, Rutherford County;
• Donna Scott Davenport, Juvenile Court judge, Rutherford County;
• Joyce Ealy, commissioner, District 19, Rutherford County Commission;
• Lisa Nolen, finance director, Rutherford County; and
• Madelyn Scales Harris, councilwoman, Murfreesboro City Council.

The women will address how they came to be involved in government, the challenges they face as women in government and what steps women should take to prepare themselves to enter public service.

This event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Murfreesboro branch of the American Association of University Women with grants from the national AAUW Legal Advocacy Campus Outreach Program and the MTSU National Women’s History Month Committee.

For more information, contact Cantrell at acantrell@comcast.net or Barbara Scales, chair of the MTSU National Women’s History Month Committee, at 615-898-2193 or barbara.scales@mtsu.edu.