The College of Agriculture, Food and Environment honored 25 students, faculty, staff and alumni Monday for empowering women. 

The college held its second annual Multicultural Awareness Day and gave awards to the honorees at the Hillary J. Boone center, UKNow said. 

“With the college’s first female dean, we felt it was imperative that we took time to recognize all the women and the work they’ve been doing in our college, and most importantly, unsung heroes — those who may not always get the spotlight,” said Natasha Saunders, extension associate for diversity recruitment and retention and a member of the event’s planning committee to UKNow. “And we wanted to include those we partner with, who work really hard to make sure we’re providing opportunities for UK employees and students.”

All of the nominees are “going beyond the call of duty” to empower women, Saunders said according to UKNow. 

UKNow said more than 57 percent of College of Agriculture students are women. Just more than 25 percent of the college’s faculty are women and women hold 38 percent of the college’s leadership roles.