Ellen Thompson, Rebecca Basham and Dr. Kelly Noonan

At Rider University’s Gender Studies Colloquium on April 12, Dr. Kelly Noonan, associate professor of economics, and Ellen Thompson, a sophomore journalism major, received Gender Studies awards lauding their commitment to improve the status of women.

Dr. Noonan, recipient of the Sadie Ziegler-Bernice Gee Award, was honored for her extensive research on women’s economic issues. The award has been presented annually since 1986. Thompson, recipient of the Dr. Virginia J. Cyrus Scholarship in Gender Studies, was recognized for her campus activism in support of women. The total award amount will be granted this summer.

Established in memory of the late Virginia Cyrus, a former professor of English at Rider, the endowed scholarship was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Cyrus family, Rider faculty, staff and alumnae. Full-time and part-time Rider candidates must have completed Introduction to Women’s Studies. They must also show academic promise and the potential to improve the status of women through scholarship and/or activism.

Dr. Noonan

A faculty member in Rider’s Gender Studies Program since 2000, Noonan has served as a faculty research fellow with the National Bureau of Economic Research and as a mentor for the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession. This year, she was elected Gender Studies Program director and will assume that position in September of 2007.

Over the years, Noonan has written a broad spectrum of scholarly papers and conducted work in a wide variety of areas, including health and health insurance, economics of families, prenatal development, child health, and foster care. She has taught courses in macroeconomics, labor market analysis, microeconomics, and economic analysis.

Noonan began her teaching career at Rider in 2000. She received both her Ph.D. and master’s degree in economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany. She is a reviewer for the “Southern Economics Journal,” “Social Science Journal,” “Contemporary Economic Policy,” and “National Science Foundation.”

Ellen Thompson

Thompson, who is minoring in Gender Studies and event planning, is a student in the baccalaureate honors program. She is the newly elected president for VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood on campus for 2007-2008.

At Rider, Thompson produced, directed, and starred in the "Vagina Monologues" in early March which brought in over $2,100 for Womanspace, a local organization dedicated to dealing with women’s issues. VOX is a group dedicated to educating the Rider community on reproductive health and choices in hopes for a healthier, more informed community.

Thompson is a resident advisor in the freshman experience building, Conover, and is a member of PHOCUS, Peer Health on Campus Unites Students which performs skits during freshman orientation and organizes theme weeks such as alcohol responsibility week and health and wellness week. She is also one of the latest members of Rider’s Orientation Staff for the summer of 2007.

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