Many of Roanoke Valley’s top professional and philanthropic community members came together Tuesday, May 14, to celebrate women, art, and education at the Taubman Museum of Art’s 19th Annual Women’s Luncheon.
Taubman Museum of Art Board Trustee and MKB, Realtors Partner and Owner Mary Dykstra Hagmaier served as master of ceremony.
On behalf of the Museum, Hagmaier presented awards to Dr. Mary Dana Hinton and Betty Hardt Lesko, two area women for their efforts to further arts and education in the area.
“What a joy to bring our community together to recognize the dynamic contributions these women have made to further arts, culture, and education in our region,” said Cindy Petersen, executive director of the Taubman Museum of Art. “Community engagement, innovation, and accessibility for all speaks true to our continued, mission-driven work. Dr. Hinton and Betty share this same commitment to informing and inspiring our community, and we are so pleased to honor them for their work in Roanoke and beyond.”
Dr. Mary Dana Hinton was presented with the Sheila S. Strauss Art Venture Award, which annually recognizes a woman for her extraordinary contributions to the arts and art education.
Dr. Hinton is the 13th president of Hollins University and president emerita of the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn. An active and respected proponent of the liberal arts and inclusion, her leadership reflects a
deep and abiding commitment to educational equity and the education of women.
Hinton is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Colleges and Universities, InterFaith America, Mount Saint Mary’s University, The Teagle Foundation, and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, where she is the vice chair. She is a commissioner on the AGB Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Hinton’s scholarship focuses on higher education leadership, strategic planning, the role of education in peace building, African American religious history, and inclusion in higher education.
She is the author of The Commercial Church: Black Churches and the New Religious Marketplace in America and a frequent op-ed contributor across higher education publications.
Hinton’s new book Leading from the Margins, based on her TEDx Talk of the same name, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in February 2024.
Betty Hardt Lesko received the Ann Fralin Award, which recognizes a woman for her extraordinary contributions to the arts and the Museum and her commitment to the community.
A native of Texas, Lesko moved to Roanoke in 1971 with her husband, Ed, and soon became involved in many community organizations. She performed in a duo-piano ensemble group for almost 40 years and has been a board member of Opera Roanoke, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Planned Parenthood, Family Service of Roanoke Valley, Blue Ridge Land Conservancy, and Roanoke Valley Speech & Hearing Center.
She served on the board of the Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts in the early 1980s and again in the 1990s, both at pivotal times in the Museum’s history when decisions were made to move from Cherry Hill and then later from Center in the Square. She acted as treasurer of the Museum and served on the Women’s Luncheon Committee for many years, in addition to hosting Dinner à la Art events.
Lesko co-founded the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop both in Roanoke and at Smith Mountain Lake and was honored with the Society’s St. George National Award. She has taught Sunday school and is an elder in her church. She is a past president of the Junior League of Roanoke Valley and has twice received its Mary Terry Goodwin Kuyk Award. She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, and the Mayflower Society, and enjoys helping others explore their genealogy.
In addition to the awards, the 19th Annual Women’s Luncheon featured a keynote address from Dr. Erica Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, Art of the Americas, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.
She has lectured and published extensively on late 19th and early 20th-century American painting, particularly on John Singer Sargent and Mary Cassatt, whose artistic ambitions were integrally tied to Europe.
Her current exhibition, Fashioned by Sargent, an interdisciplinary project exploring Sargent’s portraits, fashion, and the construction of identity, is on view at Tate Britain.
At the luncheon, Dr. Hirshler will discuss the Taubman Museum of Art’s John Singer Sargent painting Portrait of Norah Gribble, a signature work in the Museum’s permanent collection acquired with funds provided by the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust.
The 19th Annual Women’s Luncheon was presented by Kroger with additional lead support provided by Advance Auto Parts, Blue Ridge Beverage Company, Inc., and Member One Federal Credit Union.
