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Pulitzer Prize Nominee Yvonne Thornton to serve as keynote
speaker at TWU’s “The Power of a Healthy Woman
Symposium” Sept. 19
9/08/09
DENTON —
Dr. Yvonne Thornton, the first African-American woman in the
U.S. to be board certified in high-risk obstetrics and a Pulitzer
Prize nominee for her family’s biography “The
Ditchdigger’s Daughters,” will serve as the keynote
speaker during Texas Woman’s University’s annual
“The Power of a Healthy Woman Symposium” Sept.
19.
Adult women are
encouraged to attend the half-day event that shines the spotlight
on women’s health. The symposium will be held from 8:30
a.m. until 12:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, in the auditorium
of the Multipurpose Classroom and Laboratory (MCL) Building.
For a map of the Denton campus, visit www.twu.edu/maps.asp.
Registration is $15 before Sept. 10, and $20 on site. Space
is limited, so participants are encouraged to register early.
For more information, go to www.twu.edu/ce.
As of September
8, sponsors for the event are the Cordis Corporation, the
TWU Leadership Institute, the TWU Institute for Women’s
Health, National Dairy Council, Denton Municipal Electric,
Denton AgriLIFE Extension, Dairy MAX, the Medical Clinic of
North Texas, Caring for Women, Cardiovascular Clinic of North
Texas, University Behavioral Health, , the TWU Department
of Sociology and Social Work, TWU Catering Services, and TWU
Student Health Services.
From the tenements
of East Harlem to the footlights of the Apollo Theatre to
the halls of an Ivy League medical school, Dr. Thornton’s
family story is that of a modern Horatio Alger saga. In 1995
she authored her family’s biography “The Ditchdigger’s
Daughters,” which became a national bestseller. The
book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; was made into an
award-winning cable television movie; was condensed in The
Readers Digest; and was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Dr. Thornton will speak about how her father, Donald Thornton,
overcame incredible obstacles to give his daughters a better
life.
Dr. Thornton is
a double-board certified specialist in obstetrics, gynecology
and maternal-fetal medicine and is a former professor of clinical
obstetrics and gynecology at Cornell University Medical College.
She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and
Gynecology and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
She received her medical degree and executive master’s
of public health degree from Columbia University.
Featured speakers
for “The Power of a Health Woman Symposium” also
include Dr. Nancy Granovsky, regent’s fellow, professor
and family economics specialist with the Texas AgriLife Extension
Service; Dr. Abigail Tilton, TWU assistant social work professor
and social work program director; Dr. Carol S. Ireton-Jones,
executive vice president of the Professional Nutrition Therapists
organization; and Dr. Wasim A. Haque, a private practice physican
in Lewisville.
For a complete
schedule of speakers and topics, visit www.twu.edu/ce and
click on “The Power of a Healthy Woman Symposium.”
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Media
Contact:
Amanda Simpson
Director of News and Information
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: asimpson1@twu.edu
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