DANBURY, CONN. — Western Connecticut State University will celebrate Women’s History Month with several events in February and March. The events focus on achievements of women who have excelled in poetry, mentoring, exploration, business and criminal justice. All events will be on the WCSU Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury, unless otherwise noted. Admission to all events will be free and open to the public.

Assistant Professor of History and Non-Western Cultures Dr. Katherine Allocco, chair of the Women’s History Month planning committee, spoke of the importance of the events at Western.

“Women’s History Month is a celebration of great women who have made important contributions to society and culture and who have served America in a number of capacities,” Allocco said.

Among the events scheduled will be a lecture by Barbara Hillary at noon on Wednesday, March 9, on the first floor of Warner Hall. Hillary is a cancer survivor who has explored the Arctic and Antarctic, and will speak of her experiences.

Following is the series schedule:

• Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m., Elizabeth Alexander, inaugural poet for President Barack Obama, will speak at the Ives Concert Hall in White Hall, and a book signing will follow.

• Thursday, March 3, at 5 p.m., a screening of “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo” in the Student Center Theater. Winner of the Sundance Special Jury Prize in Documentary and the inspiration for a 2008 U.N. resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war, this film, shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo, shatters the silence that surrounds the use of sexual violence as a weapon of conflict.

• Friday, March 4, at 7 p.m., a screening of “Hildegard Von Bingen,” a German film about the life of the 12th century mystic, will be in Screening Room 1 in White Hall.

• Wednesday. March 9, at noon, Barbara Hillary on the first floor of Warner Hall.

• Thursday, March 10, at 5:30 p.m., a screening of “In Sickness and in Health” at the Student Center Theater. This film documents the debate over same-sex marriage in America.

• Wednesday, March 16, at noon, a panel discussion about “Women and Business” on the first floor of Warner Hall. Panelists will include Professor of Nursing Dr. Barbara Piscopo; Jessica Gamache, a graduate student studying history; 2010 graduate Shauna Morasco; Assistant Professor of Nursing Joan Palladino; and political science student Debra Salvato.

• Wednesday, March 16, at 5 p.m., a panel discussion about “Women and Justice.” Prior to the discussion, there will be a screening of a music video featuring Haley Noelle singing her song, “Break Me,” about domestic violence. This event will be in the Westside Campus Center Ballroom on the Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury.

• Thursday, March 17, at 12:30 p.m., a discussion about Irish novelist Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan): “‘The Wild Irish Girl’ and Revolutionary Rhetoric” in Room 508 of the Ruth Haas Library.

• Thursday, March 17, at 8 p.m., the Midtown Coffeehouse in Alumni Hall will present an hour-long open mic performance, followed by a series of writers, poets and musicians on the theme of women at 9 p.m.

• Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m., a lecture and reading to celebrate Martha Talburt, Mentor of the Year, at the Student Center Theater.

For more information, call (203) 837-8486.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.