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Ann Bancroft, the first woman to travel across the ice to both the North and South Poles, will give a lecture and slide presentation at Hamilton College's Chemistry Auditorium, Tuesday, April 20, at 8 p.m.

Bancroft served as team leader for the American Women's Expedition (AWE), a group of four women who skied over 660 miles to reach the South Pole on January 14, 1993. Along with explorers Sue Giller, Anne Dal Vera and Sunniva Sorby, she departed from Hercules Inlet, Antarctica, on November 9, 1992. The quartet of women skied an average of ten miles per day for 67 days, pulling 200-pound sleds loaded with their supplies and equipment.

Among the goals of the AWE expedition were: to promote awareness of the environmental issues facing Antarctica and their global impact; to provide a hands-on vehicle for bringing Antarctica, as well as the past and present achievements of women, into the classroom; to conduct physiological and psychological research pertaining to women under extreme conditions; and to make history as the first all-women's team to travel to the South Pole without dogs or motorized vehicles.

Before making history with the 1993 grueling trek to the South Pole, Bancroft traveled by dogsled to the North Pole as the only female member of the 1986 Steger International Polar Expedition. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from the University of Oregon and has taught physical and special education in Minneapolis schools, as well as coached sports such as softball, basketball, track and field, volleyball and tennis at various age levels. Her accolades include induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame (1995), an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Public Service from Northland College (1993) and Ms. Woman of the Year (1987).

Bancroft's presentation is co-sponsored by the Offices of the President and the Dean of the Faculty, the Kirkland Endowment, the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, Faculty for Women's Concerns, Hamilton Environmental Action Group (HEAG), the women's studies department, Hamilton Outing Club, the Adventure Program, Student Life, Office of Admissions and the National Science Foundation.

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