Posted 05/08/2007

Parra-Medina honored with 2007 South Carolina
Women of Achievement Award

Dr. Deborah M. Parra-Medina, associate professor in the Arnold School’s Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, has been honored with a 2007 South Carolina Women of Achievement Award for promoting the health and well-being of women.

Parra-Medina was among five women  recognized for outstanding achievements by the S.C. Commission Wednesday at a luncheon at Columbia College in conjunction with the third annual conference, “A Seat at the Table,” sponsored by the Columbia College Alliance for Women.

In its nomination of Parra-Medina, the USC Women’s Studies Program and Partnership Council stated, “As an American child of Mexican immigrants, her life’s work is to illuminate the roles of race, ethnicity, class, and gender in health and health behaviors, particularly in the Latino communities of the U.S. and to advocate for the health and education of families of lowersocio-economic status.”

Sharing the honors with Parra-Medina for promoting women’s health was Victoria “Vickie” Borus, executive director of the S.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Other Women of Achievement honorees included:

• Columbia attorney Sue “Corky” Erwin Harper of Columbia, for promoting economic autonomy for women;

• Former S.C. Superintendent of Education Izez Tenenbaum and Spartanburg attorney Cathy McCabe for promoting political participation by women; 

• Lexington School District One Superintendent Dr. Karen Woodward, winner of a Pioneer Award for her efforts to improve public education in South Carolina.

After receiving her doctorate in epidemiology in 1998, Parra-Medina and her family relocated from San Diego to the University of South Carolina where she received the first joint appointment in Women’s Studies and the Arnold School.

During Parra-Medina’s career at USC she has helped build a statewide network of Latinos who are working on health issues. She also has been the principal investigator on eight major USC research grants totaling at $3.3 million, and she has served as a co-investigator on numerous others.

She has worked on the West Columbia Project, a collaborative research effort of Women’s Studies core faculty and the West Columbia community to promote the empowerment, health and well-being of women and girls in the area.

She has been an advisor on the Minority Mentoring Planning Project for the National Cancer Institute and has served on numerous university, department and program committees. 

In 2005, Parra-Medina was recognized for her work as a role model and mentor to young Latinos by the Hispanic Leadership Council which gave her the Most Influential Latino Award for Outstanding Service to the Latino Community in South Carolina.

Prior to that, in 2002, she  received the Faculty Service Award by the Arnold School, the Community Service Award by the South Carolina Public Health Association and the Women’s Studies Faculty Teaching Award.