The Daily Record honors Loyola faculty member as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women
Karsonya “Kaye” Whitehead, Ph.D., professor of communication and African American
Studies at Loyola University Maryland, has been included on Maryland’s Top 100 Women
for 2020 by The Daily Record.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of The Daily Record's Maryland’s Top 100 Women, which was founded in 1996 to recognize outstanding achievements by women demonstrated through professional accomplishments, community leadership, and mentoring. More than 1,500 women have been presented with the honor.
Four graduates from Loyola also made the list. The awardees include, Suzanne Menser, ’06, MBA; Deborah Phelps, ’97, M.Ed.; Ann Quinn, ’93, MBA; and Wendi Wagner Peters, ’89.
Nominees were asked to complete an application outlining their educational and career history, professional and community involvement, corporate and nonprofit board memberships, and mentoring experience. A panel of business professionals and previous Maryland’s Top 100 Women honorees from throughout the state reviewed the final applications and selected this year’s honorees.
“I’m honored to be recognized by The Daily Record as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women. Being included in a group of women—some of whom who have inspired and challenged me to use my platform to engage with marginalized communities in and around Baltimore City—is an unbelievable honor and one I don't take lightly,” Whitehead said. "I spend my time working with the residents of Baltimore City, actively finding ways to share their stories, and I am constantly amazed and inspired by them and by the work that is being done to radically transform our city.”
Whitehead is a sought-after expert and scholar on the ways race, class, and gender coalesce in American classrooms, as well as in political and social environments. She is the host of the award-winning radio show, Today with Dr. Kaye on WEAA 88.9 FM, author of the bi-monthly column, “Dispatches from Baltimore” for the Afro newspaper, and the author of five books, including I Speak for the Unforgotten: Dispatches from Baltimore, which will be published in fall 2020. She was recently included on Essence magazine’s selective list of “Woke 100 Women for 2019.”
“Dr. Whitehead continuously engages our campus community in thoughtful and thought-provoking conversations around race and equity and inclusion—urging members of our community to put their education into action,” said Amanda Thomas, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Her passion for Baltimore is unmistakable, and her courageous drive to make the world a more just place inspires all of us. She constantly challenges and supports the individuals she teaches—in her classroom and through her writings and media outreach and in other ways. Her voice, which is far-reaching and well-known, compels each of us to consider what more we can do to bring greater equity and inclusion to Loyola, to our city, to our state, and to our nation.”
The awardees will be honored at the Maryland's Top 100 Women 25th Anniversary Gala and Awards Celebration, which will be held on Monday, July 27, from 4:30-8 p.m. at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. Winners will also be profiled in a special magazine that will be inserted into the Tuesday, July 28, issue of The Daily Record and will be available online at TheDailyRecord.com.
Several other events will take place throughout the year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Maryland's Top 100 Women, including a Women's Leadership Summit at Towson University on Tuesday, August 18, the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
For more information, visit TheDailyRecord.com.