Women's and gender studies becomes department

The Women's and Gender Studies Program is becoming a full-fledged department in the College of Arts and Science, effective this semester.

"For us, it means new opportunities," said Jessica Jennrich, director of Undergraduate Advising, Curriculum and Programming for the department. "We can offer new classes and more classes, and it gives us more visibility."

Jennrich said the change will affect the department's curriculum but nothing on a student's diploma.

"I think women's and gender studies is an academic discipline in its own right," said Michael O'Brien, dean of the College of Arts and Science. "We had a program before called women's studies. If you're going to do it right, make it a department. It's important to do to bring academic diversity."

The department will offer a women's and gender studies lecture series to establish the department as one that offers university lectures. Jennrich said the department will reach out to other university departments and community organizations.

"We're trying to expand who we get to come to events in addition to offering new ones," she said.

Jennrich said graduates of the department will earn an interdisciplinary studies degree with an emphasis in women's studies. The interdisciplinary studies program allows students to design their own degree with several emphasis areas.

"Hopefully, one day, it will be a free-standing degree," Jennrich said.

The department will offer new classes next semester.

Department Chairwoman Jackie Litt said the department will focus on strengthening its U.S.-based courses, including African-American women's and gender-oriented courses. She said the department would like to eventually hire someone to teach courses about Islam women and gender.

New course offerings next semester include a course on Latina women's and gender issues and a course on gender and the environment, Jennrich said. Affiliate faculty from other departments will teach the courses.

"People who wanted to be able to teach classes and probably have cross-listed class before have the opportunity to create new classes for women's and gender studies this year," Jennrich said.

Litt said the department will participate in joint hiring faculty who can teach across several programs and departments.

"We're building bridges to nursing, to journalism, to law and others," Litt said.

The department also received a nearly $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to promote women as faculty members at MU.

"It's a major grant in arts and science, and it's a grant to support to support women and women faculty," Litt said.

Research conducted with the aid of the grant includes studies on Hurricane Katrina and gender, religion and the role of churches in preventing domestic violence, and sexuality in the politics of post-apartheid South Africa.

"I want people to know there is such a range in the kinds of work we do," Litt said. "I hope students would find these kinds of things interesting."

O'Brien said the department will receive money for expenses through the college.

The department might receive additional funding and resources, depending on the amount available to all College of Arts and Science departments.

"We're now in the same pool as everyone else in Arts and Science," Litt said. "We'll go the way the college goes."