On March 23, the College of Humanities & Social Sciences (CHSS) and UHD's Center for Critical Race Studies hosted its inaugural #SayHerName Conference.

The multi-purposed event was created to increase students' awareness of issues that impact the lives of women of color and the way the forms of activism can take both within and outside the academy; and the opportunity to recruit students to UHD.

Open to the UHD community and alumni, the conference welcomed more than 400 high school and community college students. Admissions counselors and students from Houston Community College, San Jacinto College and Lee College also were in attendance.

Dr. DoVeanna Fulton, dean of CHSS, presented UHD alumna Fran Watson with the first-ever Dean's Award for Civic Engagement and Feminist Activism. Watson is an award-winning attorney and community advocate who is running for Texas Senate, District 17.

According to Fulton, the award was established to recognize and honor UHD students, faculty, staff, and alumni for excellence in academic performance and/or extraordinary service to the University and other communities at large that changes lives and the world around us.

The event also featured remarks from UHD President, Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz and University of Houston System Regent and UHD Alumna Paula Mendoza.

"This powerful event demonstrated that the University of Houston-Downtown is uniquely situated to address critical cultural issues and communities. Our unique institutional consciousness is of immediate importance and attractive to students," said Fulton. "They understand that regardless of their major or the degrees they earn, a UHD education equips them with the tools to understand the dynamics of race, gender, and other categories of difference so that they navigate this world for professional and personal success."