Mary Frances Early Lecture celebrates 25 years
In 2000, Mary Frances Early returned to the University of Georgia’s campus to deliver a lecture hosted by the Graduate and Professional Scholars (GAPS). Those scholars then surprised Early by naming the lecture series in her honor.
On Feb. 4, Tracey D. Ford and Valerie D. White, who helped plan that very first lecture when they were leaders in GAPS, returned for the annual event to celebrate the lecture’s 25th anniversary with a panel discussion led by Early.
“So many people helped us provide for that lecture, from the food, to flowers, to sound, to all the things we needed to pull this off. For us, it was a community effort,” said Ford. “One of the big takeaways that I had was that so much can happen when community comes together. We rallied around you, Ms. Early.”