GSU to open “Not Just One of the Boys” exhibit, Host Georgia Women’s Movement Spring Event
Georgia State University Library is opening the exhibit “Not Just One of the Boys: How Women Pushed Beyond Inclusion in Professional Sports,” an insightful collection of materials that highlight the efforts women have extended to gain parity in amateur and professional sports. This exhibit includes documents, photographs, flyers, and artifacts which have been pulled from a number of thought-provoking collections, including the papers of Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, Anne Harper, Pici, Beth Schapiro, Lorraine Fontana, and Mary Long.
To celebrate the opening of “Not Just One of the Boys,” the Library is hosting a Georgia Women’s Movement Spring Event on May 21 on the 8th floor of Library South.
About the Georgia Women’s Movement Spring Event
The Georgia Women’s Movement Spring Event is held annually to highlight themes and materials in the Women’s Collections. This year’s event will highlight women’s empowerment through sports. Attendees will enjoy a robust conversation with Frances Pici, Beth Schapiro, and Pamela Anderson. Light refreshments will be served.
- When: Thursday, May 21, 2026, 5:00-6:30 pm
- Where: Georgia State University Library, Special Collections & Archives (8th Floor), 100 Decatur St. Atlanta, GA 30303
Dr. Pamela S. Anderson
Dr. Pamela S. Anderson has an eclectic background. She lived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands for five years, during which time she traveled extensively throughout Europe, parts of Southern Africa and South America. Upon her return to the United States, she pursued a career in the music industry (artist management, business management, road warrior) in Nashville, Tenn. Eventually, her passion for teaching directed her to complete her formal education. Anderson completed her terminal degree at Middle Tennessee State University in health and human performance. Her main area of teaching interest lies in science, particularly the physiological aspects of exercise, but she also enjoys teaching classes in nutrition, health, and intersectionality across educational settings.
Dr. Anderson was a child when Title IX was signed into law; consequently, she has witnessed the full evolution of the legislation in practice. Over the years, she has participated in athletics as an athlete, coach, referee, educator, and researcher. Not surprisingly, these experiences fostered a lifelong commitment advocating for the rights of girls and women.
Her academic work is grounded in the physiology of exercise, with a particular focus on how physical activity impacts the female body. Her research agenda is further informed by an interest in issues of gender equity, especially as they relate to female athletes and access to participation in resources, including a special focus on Title IX.
Through her teaching, research, and advocacy, Dr. Anderson continues to champion the advancement of women and girls in both academic and athletic spaces. As evidenced by the unique opportunity presenting her research findings with one of the foremost scholars of Title IX, Linda Carpenter, Ph.D., J.D. whose work has been foundational in shifting the conversation around the law from simple participation to the broader perspective of gender equity issues in sport.
Pici
Pici (frances anne Pici) was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. After high school, Pici enrolled in college at the University of Buffalo in 1971. During that time, U.B. was a very activist university and home to the newly created Buffalo Women’s Studies College (WSC) which was one of only two Women’s Studies Programs in the country, second only to San Diego State University. In 1974, Pici moved to Atlanta, GA, and immediately joined ALFA—the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance, which, at that time, was the first and only out of the closet lesbian-feminist organization in the country. She also joined the ALFA Omegas, the first out of the closet Lesbian Feminist softball team to play in the City of Atlanta leagues. Pici also went on to be a City of Atlanta softball umpire.
From 1974-1979 Pici was one of the founding mothers of Red Dyke Theatre (RDT), a lesbian feminist theatre troupe. After Red Dyke Theater disbanded, she went on to Solo-Performance as a Feminist Mime and Comic. In 1982, Pici began her career at CNN in the CNN Library and in 1994 was part of the team who created and deployed CNN.COM. Pici received all of her college degrees from GSU, where she was awarded a B.A. in Communication/Theatre, an M.A. in Communication/Performance Studies, and an ABD Ph.D. in Moving Image Studies. In 2008, Pici started a new career at Emory University, working in Woodruff Library’s Access Services, managing the Music and Media Library and the Open Access Repository Analyst in the Library’s Scholarly Communication Office. Pici happily retired in 2022 and moved back to NY with her spousal soul mate, Harriett.
Beth Schapiro
Beth Schapiro is a strategic consultant, feminist and social activist. She obtained degrees from the University of Maryland (1971, B.S. in education) and Emory University (1977; 1979, M.A.; Ph.D., in political science). From 1971-1979, she taught in both public and private schools and colleges. From 1979-1981, she was a Senior Planner in the Georgia Office of Planning and Budget and, from 1981-1984, she served as Executive Director of Research Atlanta. In 1984, Schapiro founded Beth Schapiro & Associates, a political and public affairs consulting firm. After 30 years at the helm of what had become The Schapiro Group, she closed her strategic consulting firm in 2014.
Beth is particularly proud of having guided the political campaigns of numerous elected officials who broke barriers of gender, race, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. Her research over the years contributed to our collective understanding of many of the most challenging issues facing us, including children and youth, civic engagement, transportation, education, poverty and human services, health care, and civil and human rights for all. Her work spanned all sectors – government, academia, corporate, and, particularly, the nonprofit sector.
Beth has been passionate about and active within women’s sports throughout her life. In the 1970s, she was a City of Atlanta softball umpire alongside Pici; in 2006, she watched the US basketball team win at the Olympic Games, and in 2008, she attended her first Atlanta Dream game. She has been supporting The Dream ever since, attending all of their home games and developing a deep knowledge and understanding of the team and the sport.