As March is Women’s History Month, Louisiana Tech’s department of history has joined with Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, Inc., and the Louisiana Tech Chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to put together a month of events. In keeping with the National Women’s History Month program theme, “Celebrating Women of Character, Courage and Commitment,” this year’s program will offer a number of events, including a public speaker series and a public history exhibit. Nationally prominent specialists in women’s history and gender studies will address audiences on specific aspects of women’s roles in history and in contemporary society. All Women’s History Month events are free and open to the public. Events begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 11 at the Lincoln Parish Library’s Chautauqua Galley with an opening reception for a public history exhibit assembled by Louisiana Tech students enrolled in History 475: Women in History, during the winter quarter.  The exhibit will be on view until March 31. Other scheduled events are: • 2 p.m. Friday, March 14 in University Hall, Room 123, “The Quadroon: Myth, History and New Orleans’s Free Women of Color,” a special lecture by Dr. Emily Clark, the Clement Chambers Benenson Professor in American Colonial History at Tulane University Clark will speak on the subject of her book, “The Strange History of the American Quadroon: Free Women of Color in the Revolutionary Atlantic World,” recently published by the University of North Carolina Press. “The Strange History of the American Quadroon” investigates how the idea of the erotic colored mistress found its way into commerce and literature, persisting as a symbol long beyond the political and cultural purposes for which it was created. Untangling myth and memory, Clark will present a dramatically new understanding of the myths and realities of New Orleans’s free women of color. • 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 18 in University Hall, Room 123, “Women and Sports: America and Beyond,” a special lecture by Dr. Sumaya Farooq Samie, who holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Warwick, England Samie will speak specifically about issues surrounding girls’ and women’s participation in athletics in the United States, as well as in other areas of the world, addressing both historical context and contemporary issues.  She will also focus on the hurdles that girls and women have had to overcome in order to be successful in their respective sports, as well as the tremendous accomplishments that many female athletes have achieved over time. • A research paper competition on topics concerning women is open to undergraduate students in any major at Louisiana Tech.  Any paper on a topic related to women completed during academic year 2013-2014 is eligible.  Entries may be sent to lstoff@latech.edu. First, second and third place winners of the competition will be awarded cash prizes. Women’s History Month events at Louisiana Tech are made possible by financial and other support from the department of history, Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, the Student Organization Grant Committee, the Association of Women Students, the Lincoln Parish Library, LA Tech AAUW and the students of History 475: Women in History, Winter Quarter 2013-2014. For more information on Women’s History Month events at Tech, contact Dr. Laurie S. Stoff at 318-257-5480 or lstoff@latech.edu. For more information on the National Women’s History program and this year’s theme, visit http://www.nwhp.org/.