Campus to Celebrate Spendlove Winner Anita Hill

UC Merced will honor Anita Hill as the 10th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance in an Oct. 24 ceremony at the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre.

The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public, but registration is required.

In addition, several other events related to Hill’s visit will be held on campus and in the community in the weeks prior to the Oct. 24 ceremony. A full list of events can be found below.

Hill’s public testimony during the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas thrust her into the national spotlight and raised national awareness of sexual harassment. The hearings — portrayed in the 2016 HBO film “Confirmation,” with Kerry Washington starring as Hill — are considered a watershed moment for women’s rights and led to changes in workplace laws and practices to protect women and men from harassment.

Hill has been an advocate for equality and social justice for decades. She is an attorney and professor of social policy, law and women's studies at Brandeis University and a faculty member of Brandeis' Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

The Spendlove Prize was established in 2005 through a gift to the university from Sherrie Spendlove in honor of her parents, lifelong Merced residents Alice and Clifford Spendlove.

Hill’s selection as this year’s Spendlove Prize recipient provides some symmetry — Charles Ogletree, who was Hill’s legal counsel during the hearings, was named the first Spendlove Prize winner in 2005 and spoke at UC Merced’s opening. Like many of the previous winners, Ogletree will be on hand to honor Hill at this year’s event and will hold a book signing the next day.

Schedule of Events

Oct. 13, 1 p.m.
Film screening: “Confirmation”
California Room

Oct. 17, 1 p.m.
Film Screening: “Confirmation”
Bobcat Lair

Oct. 18, noon to 1:15 p.m.
Academic panel: “Anita Hill: History, Gender, Race and the Law”
Student Services Building, Room 120
Note: Panel includes UC Merced faculty members Susan Amussen, Mark Harris, Inga Maples and Nigel Hatton.

Oct. 20, 8 p.m.
Film Screening: "Confirmation"
Hosted by AFRO Hall Living and Learning Community
Classroom and Office Building 2, Room 140

Oct. 24, 6 p.m.
Spendlove Prize ceremony
Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre
Note: Register to attend.
Contact: 209-228-RSVP or specialevents@ucmerced.edu. 

Oct. 25, 3-4:30 p.m.
Charles Ogletree book signing
Barnes & Noble, 1720 W. Olive Ave., Merced