'Daughters' to visit UB April 22
Annual event will bring 500 young women to campus work sites

By MARA McGINNIS
News Services Editor

As part of the annual national celebration organized by the Ms. Foundation for girls ages 9-15, UB will hold its Fourth Annual "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" on April 22.

The deadline for faculty, staff and students to register with their daughters, or "surrogate" daughters, is April 12.

UB holds one of the largest "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" programs in the Buffalo area. It features a diverse, interactive program allowing girls to explore careers in such varied fields as information technology, medicine and biological sciences, dental medicine, law, photography, dance, business, environmental studies, athletics, speech and hearing, radio broadcasting and early child care.

The day's purpose is to expand girls' career horizons and increase their self-esteem, according to Deborah Schifferle and Bernice Noble, co-chairs of the UB Take Our Daughters to Work Day Committee.

"Recent research indicates that the self-esteem of many girls plummets by the time they reach the age of 15," notes Schifferle. "That's why our program will emphasize a variety of career options for them, especially those in math and science, two fields where girls still lag behind boys academically."

As many as 500 girls are expected to participate in this year's program, including 175 girls from inner-city Buffalo who will be attending through Prevention Focus, Inc. a Buffalo non-profit substance-abuse and teen-pregnancy prevention agency.

Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by opening ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. featuring a keynote address by Naniette Coleman, president of UB's undergraduate Student Association.

Visits to sites of the girls' choice will take place from 10:45-11:45 a.m. and 1:30-2:30 p.m., with a lunch from noon to 1 p.m.

Registration is $4 each for girls and their adult sponsors. A box lunch is available for $3 each.

Girls can choose from more than 40 sites on the North and South campuses.

Morning sessions will include a tour of UB's Pharmacy Museum and turn-of-the-century apothecary; a design-your-own-Web-page lesson; a behind-the-scenes tour of the Center for the Arts; a cake-decorating lesson at the UB bakery; a workshop on journal-writing; a hands-on demonstration of new technology for persons with disabilities; a lesson in how to be a medical laboratory "detective," and a visit to UB's new speech and hearing clinic.

Some afternoon sessions will include: a tour of Slee Concert Hall and an open dress rehearsal of the Cassett String Quartet; a tour of WBFO-88.7FM studios; a firsthand experience of what it is like to be a public-interest lawyer; a visit to UB's Neuroanantomy Museum; a jazz class in UB's dance studio; and a visit to a photographic studio where girls will learn about traditional photographic processes and today's digital imaging.

Corporate sponsors supporting the event are Buffalo Partners Linking to Address Adolescent Needs, Children's Foundation of Erie County, Coca-Cola, M&T Bank, SH Gow & Co., Inc., Xerox Corp., Buffalo Athletic Club for Women, Buffalo/Niagara Marriott, Colvin Cleaners, Inc., Holiday Inn (Amherst), Structural Office Systems/MAD Data Products, Thomas Mineo Studios, A Cut Above, Don Pablo's, Media Play, Montana Mills Bread Co., Park Florist, Putt-Putt Golf and Games, Suzn O', Target (Amherst), University Inn, Art Park & Co., Barnes & Noble, The Bead Gallery, Buffalo Zoo, Fast Franks, Hard Rock Cafe, Lasertron, Max Hart's Diner, Office Furniture Center, Roseanne's Hair Shop and S.J. McCullagh, Inc.

University and community sponsors are Alpha Phi Omega, Alpha Phi, Division of Athletics, CSEA Local 1000, Eating Disorders of Western New York, Faculty-Student Association, Public Employees Federation, Personnel Services, Student Affairs, SUNY Card, Print and Mail Services, United University Professions, Upward Bound and Zeta Phi Beta.

Individual supporters are Jane Liebner, Isabel Marcus, Peter Nickerson, Bernice Noble and Donna Rice.

To register, contact Betty Williams at 645-2663, ext. 259. More information on the program is available at http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/events/todtw/.