Association honors contributions to lives of women at Carolina
Laurie T. Charest, associate vice chancellor for human resources, won the 1997 Mary Turner Lane Award in honor of outstanding contributions to the lives of women students, faculty, staff and administrators at Carolina.
Charest, renowned among colleagues for her energetic problem-solving, was presented the award by the Association for Women Faculty and Professionals this spring.
"I couldn't think of anybody who would be better for the Turner Award," said Barbara DeLon, director of housekeeping, who endorsed Charest's nomination for the honor.
Through her work in human resources, Charest has changed the entire culture at the University, DeLon said.
"She approaches things in positive ways," she added.
As an example DeLon cited Charest's work to establish a day-care center on campus.
Charest, the University's liaison for the project, helped ensure that the center would serve all members of the University community, DeLon said. When the center is complete, it will help bring a public institution in line with benefits offered by private industry, she said.
The center--to serve children of University and hospital employees and students--will be built near the Friday Center and accommodate 120 children. It is scheduled to open next year.
DeLon described Charest as a modest and understated leader who strives to make the system work for the greater good.
"She looks at a problem and says, `What are we missing here?'" DeLon said. "She works without hurting people and waging war, and she gets things done."
Charest, a Carolina alumna, has directed human resources programs for faculty and staff at Carolina since 1990. Before coming to Carolina, she worked in human resources at Duke University.
The Mary Turner Lane Award, established in 1986, is given annually by the Association for Women Faculty and Professionals and is named for one of the group's founders. Lane, associate professor emerita of education, became the first director of Women's Studies in 1976, and, although retired, remains active in women's issues on campus.
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