Betty Lentz Siegel, president of Kennesaw University, received the Howard Thurman Stain Glass Award during the Howard Thurman Crown Forum on November 17. The award is given to individuals engaged in work that crosses interfaith, interracial and international boundaries. Siegel was recognized because she is the first woman to head an institution in the 34-unit University System of Georgia and the longest serving woman president in the nation.

She addressed the College at Crown Forum when another outstanding woman, Rosa Parks was honored with an oil portrait. Parks and Siegel both committed their lives to helping others and working for peace and justice.

Siegel recently convened The Oxford Conclave on Global Ethics and the Changing University Presidency, where Lawrence E. Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther King International Chapel participated in the weeklong conference.

Siegel, who was appointed president of Kennesaw State University in 1981, will retire on January 2, 2006.