The SCTE Foundation said it has created a new scholarship for women to honor Cathy Oakes, the long-time SCTE executive who died suddenly on Saturday, Nov. 16.
The Catherine Oakes Memorial Leadership Scholarship for Women will recognize and reward woman who are currently are or aspire to become cable engineering or operational professionals, the SCTE said. The Society said the scholarship may be used toward registration in an industry development program or an executive education program, including the SCTE-Tuck Executive Leadership Program and the SCTE-Georgia Tech Management Development Program.
The scholarship will be funded entirely by donations earmarked for that purpose. Donation forms are avaialble on the SCTE Foundation web site, and online scholarship applications will be made available in January. Applications will be reviewed by past recipients of the Women in Technology award, presented annually by SCTE, Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and industry publication CableFax. Oakes, an alumna of the SCTE-Tuck Executive Leadership Program, was honored Thursday (November 21) as one of the Top Women in Cable Technology.
“One of Cathy’s passions was her work in women’s and diversity programs,” said Yvette Kanouff, executive vice president, corporate engineering and technology for Cablevision Systems, in a statement. “Her support and desire to help others helped make the TechConnect mentoring program a reality and a success. Women at all levels of the industry are in her debt for her efforts.”
The SCTE Foundation, established in 2005, is intended to increase the technical, business and leadership skills of the telecommunications engineering workforce, attract and recruit women and minorities into engineering careers, and position the telecommunications industry as a desirable career opportunity for aspiring young people in the early stages of their careers.
