BALTIMORE --- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend will launch UMBC's Women's History Month with remarks on Wednesday, March 3. The event will be held at 1 p.m. on the 7th floor of the A.O. Kuhn Library. During the same kick-off event, Leah Gilmore, deputy director of Maryland's American Civil Liberties Union, will be delivering an address on "Women's Rights as Civil Rights: Moving into the New Millennium." The campus will observe Women's History Month with lectures, displays and symposia throughout March. "Women's History Month is a time to strengthen the sense of campus community," says Mary Rivkin, director of the Women's Center and associate professor of education. "This is a time to reflect on the challenges women have faced and continue to struggle with, but also to celebrate their achievements." "Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is a woman achieving her potential - well-educated, flourishing in a career bright with promise, raising four children with her professor-husband, and radiating an optimistic, forward-looking spirit," she says. " She is a great person to launch Women's History Month at UMBC." Women's History Month activities include: a lecture on "Rachel Carson: Voice for Nature," by biographer Linda Lear, a research professor of history at George Washington University; "What is National Women's History Month, Anyway?," a presentation on the history and purpose surrounding National Women's History Month; an International Women's Day Celebration; and "Careers That Make a Difference: Agency and Women's Activism in Baltimore's Communities," a Women's Professional Network panel discussion; among others. For a list of March events see the UMBC Calendar.