Performer Sally Struthers will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Women’s Leadership Colloquium @ UMW. The 24th annual event is set to take place on Thursday, Nov. 2, at the University of Mary Washington’s Stafford campus.
Struthers rose to fame in the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom All in the Family, which held the Nielsen ratings’ No. 1 spot five years in a row. She won two Emmys and a Golden Globe Award for her role as the bushy blond-headed Gloria Stivic, the ditzy and kind, yet somewhat stubborn, daughter of Archie and Edith Bunker.
After co-starring in movies with such actors as Jack Nicholson, Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw, Struthers went on to hold leads in the Fox TV show 9 to 5 and in her own CBS series, Gloria. She claimed recurring parts on the CBS comedy Still Standing and CW Network’s Gilmore Girls, and appeared in a string of independent films and TV movies, on Broadway, and in cameo, guest-starring and voice-over roles. Among her many accolades, Struthers won the Los Angeles Artistic Director Theatre Award for best actress for her portrayal of Louise Seger in the musical Always, Patsy Cline.
Locally, the actress, now 69, has graced the stage at Fredericksburg’s Riverside Center Dinner Theater in such productions as The Full Monty; Hello, Dolly!; 9 to 5: The Musical; Spamalot; and Mame. A longtime advocate for malnourished and undereducated children, Struthers will speak at UMW’s women’s colloquium about the events that have colored her life as a woman involved in the arts and of the lessons she’s learned along the way.
The daylong event, themed “Real Women, Real Issues, Real Solutions,” fosters connections between professional women. It features seminars and speakers, including Emmy Award-winning TV reporter Jan Fox, Foode owner and executive chef Joy Crump, She-EO founder DeShawn Robinson-Chew, life coach and mental performance trainer Tony Bodoh, and personal elevation expert Arlene Jackson.
The Women’s Leadership Colloquium @ UMW runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The registration fee is $179 for individuals before Oct. 1 and for groups of five or more until Oct. 20. Individual registration is $199 from Oct. 1 to 31. Students tickets cost $30 each through Nov. 2. For more information, visit umw.edu/lcpw/colloquium.
