Clark College’s new Iris Awards will celebrate the lasting and far-reaching contributions of women in Southwest Washington and beyond. The awards, which will be presented on International Women’s Day 2012, will honor the tradition of the regional “Women of Achievement” celebration but embrace a new direction for the future. The announcement of the first Iris Award recipients will be made during the 2012 State of the College Address on Thursday, Jan. 19. The Iris Awards are supported by Clark College, the Clark College Foundation and the Vancouver Business Journal. Award criteria and nomination forms are available at www.clark.edu/cc/irisawards. Nominations must be received by Wednesday, Nov. 30.

Clark College President Robert K. Knight says, “Since 1985, Clark College has been a regional leader in celebrating the contributions of women. When we made the difficult decision to discontinue the Women of Achievement luncheon, we also made a commitment to exploring new ways in which to honor women in our region. Those discussions led to the creation of the Iris Awards.  We’re proud to make this announcement, and we hope that the community will share our excitement.”