What could you possibly learn by studying us? What would happen if what was inside us were to enter the world?
--Carol Gilligan
Since 1978, the Women's Studies program has been proving that studying women leads to valuable learning by individual students, and much needed societal growth and change. Thanks to the enthusiasm and support of UMass Dartmouth students, faculty, administration and community supporters the 1996-97 year continued to document the worth of teaching and learning about women.
The first year of my directorship was devoted to a review of the mission and consideration of goals and objectives to guide the next two years, a reassessment of the administrative structure, and a beginning re-examination of policies.
Review of Mission:
With input from students, teaching and administrative staff, the steering committee revised the mission statement for the program and developed a list of goals and objectives based on the mission statement. The development of mechanisms to measure these desired outcomes will be considered in the coming year.
Administrative Structure:
Early in the 1996-97 academic year the de facto decision-making structure of recent years was approved by the steering committee. Instead of separate committees for curriculum and program outlined in the last approved document on program structure, one steering committee was created from volunteers among faculty, students and staff.
All who volunteered served well. Thanks to Roberta Aaronson, Parveen Ali,, Suzanne Buckley, Magali Carrera, Sandra Cunha, Phyllis Currier, Chris Frizzell, Barbara Jacobskind, Susan Krumholz, Rita Marinho, Betty Mitchell, Mari Mujica and Juli Parker. Particular thanks to Betty Mitchell who had directed the program immediately before I assumed leadership. I benefited enormously from her plentiful and helpful guidance.
Beyond membership in the steering committee, participation in decision-making was afforded by communicating suggested policy changes by e-mail and traditional memo to all women's studies faculty. Many who did not serve on the steering committee responded with helpful suggestions and attended occasional meetings.
The structure's effectiveness suggests that this modus operandi should be continued until change is indicated.
Cross-listing Policy:
After several lengthy discussions and a review of cross-listing policies gathered from other institutions, the committee decided that proposed courses that comply with the program's mission will be cross-listed. Faculty proposing new courses will meet with the Steering Committee. If faculty member(s) who originally proposed a course leave, the steering committee will review the course to determine if and how it can continue to be offered as part of the program, and work with College deans and department chairs to seek another instructor.
Curriculum Review
The Introductory Course:
Women's Studies faculty reviewed the introductory course, including an examination of the key women's studies texts used for basic courses, discussing the NWSA publication on the introductory women's studies course, and gathering ideas from other institutions. UMass Dartmouth Women's Studies faculty decided that they do not wish to adopt a standard text or syllabus, but, instead, engage in ongoing discussion to determine the topics and issues that can provide the basic foundation for further learning. The current instructors of the introductory course, Juli Parker and Mari Mujica met informally to exchange approaches and assignments and hope to continue to do so in the coming academic year.
Feminist Pedagogy:
Discussions also explored if women's studies courses should utilize a particular approach to teaching and learning and what the components of "feminist pedagogy" include. As with the adoption of a single text, steering committee members rejected conformity, while expressing interest in exploring strategies that could enhance the effectiveness of the women's studies classroom. This will be the focus of professional development in AY1997-98.
Staff Development:
The growth of the Women's Studies program will require an ongoing investment in staff development and a promising beginning was made in AY1996-97. Collaboration with groups on campus and beyond increased the benefits and limited the costs of this important commitment.
During the fall semester the Women's Studies program and the Office of Multicultural Services co-sponsored Sonia Nieto, UMass Amherst professor and author of Affirming Diversity. Dr. Nieto presented two well-attended sessions on the multicultural classroom, one directed to faculty; the other to a student audience. Thanks to George Smith, Norm Barber and Mari Mujica for recommending this outstanding scholar and practitioner.
During the Spring term, the program collaborated with the Women's Resource Center and the Council on Cultural Diversity in sponsoring Marilyn Halter, Associate Professor of American Studies at Boston University, whose fine lecture on immigration was followed by a dialog with students, staff and community attendees. She shared her belief that women's studies should be a "24/7' celebration of women's living and learning, that is around-the-year study and activism rather than the "Women's History Month" familiar to many campuses.
A superb workshop on feminist research methodologies presented by Shulamit Reinharz, Director of the Brandeis University Women's Studies program and the Institute on International Research on Jewish Women and author of four books, including, Feminist Research Methodologies, was another highlight of the Spring term.
Additionally, students, faculty and staff attended workshops on library and internet information resources on women's studies developed by Shaleen Barnes, Director of Library Instructional Services, and Pam Whitehouse, recent UMD honor graduate in Political Science and Women's Studies, now in graduate school at University of Rhode Island.
Janet also participated in the Common Ground group established by the Office of Affirmative Action, Diversity and Outreach. The bi-weekly meetings with colleagues from a variety of University settings provided new perspectives and the potential for collaborative work in the coming year.
Additionally, the Women's Studies program co-sponsored a dramatic reading, art exhibition and gallery talk and the Days of Dialog lecture series offered by Jonathan Hardey. Attendance at such events, sometimes as a class session, enriched the perspectives offered to our students.
Collaboration with the Women's Resource Center:
Selma Botman, Vice President for Academic Affairs for the UMass system, was the keynote speaker for the formal dedication last spring of the Women's Resource Center, located in a dormitory suite in the residence campus. While not the first choice of location, the welcoming staff, warm atmosphere and broad array of programming is slowly attracting campus and community involvement. Already some women's studies classes are meeting in the small seminar room and we hope this will increase in the 1998 academic year.
I attended weekly staff meeting and most WRC programs; Juli Parker and I serve on each other's steering committees. The fact that Juli teaches in the program (and is our only faculty member with an advanced degree in women's studies) has been of great benefit in bringing the academic and service aspects of our programs in closer relationship.
Juli and I authored a joint grant proposal to explore Women's Ways of Leading . Although we received only half of the funds requested, we hope to offer a year-long series of programs to explore the unique contributions and approaches to leadership women offer.
Budget difficulties prevented action last year on the commitment the Amass Dartmouth administration had made to provide a half-time secretary to work with both the WRC and Women's Studies. The position was filled this September and promises to provide important administrative assistance to both programs.
Collaborations beyond the UMass Dartmouth campus:
We also began exploring collaborations with sister programs in the region. A gathering held at Bridgewater State College in December brought together UMass Dartmouth, UMass Boston and Bridgewater faculty, staff and students for a productive session.
Juli Parker and I were invited to join the Coalition for Women's Studies of the New England land grant institutions at their fall meeting at the University of Maine and, following that productive conference, were asked to continue to be part of their organization. The agendas and activities of the flagship institutions can inform and inspire our work at UMass Dartmouth and, despite our small size, we discovered that our collaborative Women's Center/Program model offered a unique example of mutual support to the larger schools.
On February 13-16, I attended a major national conference for Women's Studies program directors at Arizona State University. This afforded the opportunity to exchange ideas with directors of premier programs -- and others, like ours, struggling for the resources needed to achieve quality. There are many Masters, and now several Ph.D. programs in Women's Studies and several of our recent baccalaureate graduates have applied to these, or to joint advanced degree programs combining Women's Studies with another discipline. The discussions at Tempe reaffirmed the need for our program to move beyond a collection of fine courses from the perspective of a particular discipline to the development of a "core" that includes a strong introductory course, a course in feminist theory and a capstone experience in women's studies. These directions would enrich our program and better prepare students who wish to pursue graduate study. Another valuable model from the conference was the work being done by many programs to include international perspectives that can lead to the understanding and empowerment of women around the globe. (n.b. a packet of notes from the conference is available from Janet)
I also attended the pre-conference session for program administrators held before the National Women's Studies Association annual meetings in June.
Immediate Recommendations:
A minimum and consistent level of financial support is essential to program growth. Despite good intentions, support is far beneath the level necessary to claim that we have a program at all. The $5000 minimum budget for non-personnel expenditures reiterated at the gatherings cited above is required, programs that do not meet this level are not considered as serious efforts. UMass Dartmouth should not be among these.
Another immediate goal is to create, perhaps in collaboration with the Honors Program, a small computer cluster to be utilized principally by students on the residence campus. This would allow us to capitalize on the positive aspects of our location by making the WRC a day, evening and weekend resource for students to prepare assignments. Interested students can use the cluster in conjunction with the Women's Resource Center's small library that serves as a starting place for research on women. The current outmoded computers do not have enough memory for students to prepare even a term paper. The cluster can also be used in connection with courses taught at the center.
A basic operational budget and the computer duster are vital immediate steps that the administration can take to keep our revitalized program alive and growing.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Freedman, Director
The UMASS DARTMOUTH Women's Studies Program
Revision date: November 15, 1997
URL : http://www2.umassd.edu/wrcwms/wms/about/annualreport96_97.html
Email : wrcwms@umassd.edu