Bailey K. Moss, a senior at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC), has been awarded the IUPUI Outstanding Woman Student Leader Award. The award was presented at the 18th Annual Women’s Leadership Awards Reception on March 26, 2015 at Campus Center Theater at IUPUI as part of IUPUI’s celebration of Women’s History Month.
Bailey, a resident of Columbus, Indiana, is majoring in English (literature) and minoring in Women’s Studies. She is the recipient of the IUPUC Undergraduate Student Service Leadership Award for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 in recognition of her leadership excellence, in addition to being awarded the Outstanding Student in English Award in 2013. Among the significant and substantial contributions Bailey has made as a campus leader are the following: IUPUC Academic Resource Center tutor; founder and president of the Feminism Club at IUPUC; member and past president of the English Club; member of the Gay/Straight Alliance at IUPUC; volunteer at Love Chapel; volunteer at Columbus Signature Academy (CSA) Lincoln Elementary School; IUPUC Bridge Leader; IUPUC Summer Success Leader; IUPUC Orientation volunteer; and Managing Editor of Talking Leaves, IUPUC’ s literary magazine. She also mentors other student leaders on campus. However, it is in her role as founder and president of the award-winning Feminism Club at IUPUC that Bailey has earned her latest recognition.
Bailey formed and leads the Feminism Club at IUPUC, the mission of which is to educate the campus about serious social injustices and unite IUPUC as an educated force that advocates change and equality, making campus a safe space. She designs, initiates, and spearheads events that attract students, faculty, staff, and community members, in spite of the fact that the events treat sensitive issues such as race-based hate crimes, sex trafficking, domestic violence, and rape culture. The club is one of the most popular and the most active at IUPUC, with over 100 members on Facebook, and has made the front page of the Columbus The Republic because of its dedication to bettering women’s lives.
Bailey states, “My education and subsequent leadership roles changed the course of my life. When I began my journey at IUPUC/IUPUI, my minor in Women’s Studies changed the way I viewed the world; it made me believe I can be—and should be--a leader for the betterment of others and the world we share. I believe wholeheartedly that women can make the world a better place, and I know from experience that just one woman can make a world of difference.”
According to her mentor and nominator for the award, Dr. Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick, Associate Professor of English and the Director of the Office of Student Research, “Bailey has performed exemplary and substantial service to the growth and wellbeing of IUPUC undergraduates, to the IUPUC campus community, and to the community at large this year. What Bailey does takes courage and heart. As a highly visible student leader on campus—and a leader in many capacities—she has given her all to IUPUC. The best evidence of this is the hugely successful Feminism Club that she spearheads, and this club with its leader(s) and programming is dedicated to the growth and well-being of other IUPUC students and the larger community. All of Bailey’s leadership activities demonstrate her longstanding commitment and dedication to IUPUC and to students. Her substantial and significant history as an effective leader who respects diversity and makes campus a social, educational, and desirable place to be from the students’ perspective make her extraordinary and exemplary in every way.”
IUPUI cites Bailey’s “personal characteristics, outstanding academic achievement, [her] commitment to serving others, and [her] understanding of the impact strong women can make in the campus community and world” as the rationale for the award.