Girls on the Run Founder Receives Honorary Degree from Converse College
May 14, 2012
SPARTANBURG, SC – May 13, 2012 – Molly Barker of Charlotte, N.C, founder of the international organization Girls on the Run, received her first honorary degree from Converse College, a women’s college located in Spartanburg, S.C., during the college’s commencement exercises on May 12, 2012. Barker also served as commencement speaker.
Barker was selected for the Doctor of Humane Letters (L.D.H.) because of her extraordinary achievement and contributions in the social sciences, philanthropic work, and human welfare.
“Converse’s mission is to develop engaged leaders who think critically and creatively and effect positive change in the world. As a creative leader who is on the vanguard of social entrepreneurship, Molly Barker is an exemplary role model for our graduates,” said Converse President Betsy Fleming.
Molly Barker and President of Converse College, Betsy Fleming
Barker has been nationally recognized for innovative, cutting-edge work as a social entrepreneur. A four-time Hawaii Ironman triathlete, she combines her expertise in social work, counseling and teaching, along with research on adolescent issues, in a variety of social media and curriculum-driven projects designed to break the barriers of social stereotypes that limit girls and women. This social movement provides them with the tools and the courage to recognize and unravel their own, often unconscious, confinement by the “Girl Box” and its limiting messages.
The “Girl Box,” a phrase coined by Barker, describes a place where many girls go around adolescence, when they begin to morph into what they think they should be instead of being who they really are, and where cultural and societal stereotypes limit their choices and opportunities. The messages of the “Girl Box” vary, but the overarching theme is rooted in the societal belief that girls and women must conform to a set of physical and behavioral standards that are often unattainable and dangerous to their health and well-being.
“I am thrilled to receive this honorary degree from Converse College,” Barker said. “My personal mission as well as the mission of the organization I founded, Girls on the Run, is in complete alignment with the mission of Converse College: empowering girls and women as well as cultivating an environment where all can know and activate their greatest potential.”
In addressing the Class of 2012, Barker shared personal reflections on what motivates her work. “Heaven rests in me and you and the brilliance of our own lives…We can unabashedly and with intense joy choose to honor this human experience by using our physical selves, our senses, our words, our thoughts and our actions to, as children do so freely, create a heaven right here on earth, where all of us – every last one of us – can feel safe and at peace simply being ourselves,” she said, continuing, “The world I live in begins with me. I guess today is as good a day as any to begin.”
Molly Barker founded Girls on the Run in 1996 in Charlotte, N.C. This pioneering program for 8 to 12 year-old girls brings together training for a five kilometer event with life-changing, confidence building lessons aimed to enhance both their physical and mental health. Today, there are Girls on the Run councils in more than 190 cities across North America, including Converse College’s hometown of Spartanburg, S.C., serving over 150,000 girls and women each year.
Barker is the recipient of several prestigious national awards including Redbook magazine’s “Strength and Spirit Award,” which recognizes individuals who are building a better future for all of us; the Woman’s Day Award from Woman’s Day magazine, which salutes individuals who have used their vision and heart to help fix pressing problems; the prestigious Heroes of Running Award from Runner’s World magazine; and CNN’s “Breakthrough Woman Award.”
Barker earned a BA degree in chemistry in 1982 and a Master’s degree in social work in 1989, both from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Prior to founding Girls on the Run®, she worked in the fields of education and counseling, serving as a high school chemistry and physics teacher, and a therapist/counselor for Davidson College, Catawba Family Center and Substance Abuse Prevention Services in Charlotte. Ms. Barker is the author of two books, Girls on Track: A Parent’s Guide to Inspiring our Daughters to Achieve a Lifetime of Self-Esteem and Respect (2004) and Girls Lit from Within (2006) which is specifically for third through eighth grade girls.
About Converse College
Founded in 1889 and located in Spartanburg, S.C., Converse College is dedicated to advancing women for professional and personal success and to developing adaptable leaders equipped with the creativity, character, knowledge and perspective to effect positive change. In 2011, Converse was named the #1 Best Value in the South by U.S.News & World Report and one of the top five colleges in S.C. by both Forbes and Washington Monthly.
Converse offers a wide range of academic programs for undergraduate women and coed graduate students through the School of Humanities and Sciences, School of Education and Graduate Studies, and School of the Arts. The Converse learning community is differentiated by the Nisbet Honors Program, Petrie School of Music, award-winning independent and collaborative research, leading national debate teams, study abroad and internship programs, and a 10:1 student/faculty ratio.
Converse competes in NCAA Division II athletics—the highest level of any women’s college—in seven team sports and offers an IHSA-affiliated equestrian program.
