Texas Tech University

History of the Women's & Gender Studies

Note: The information below was compiled from reviewing meeting minutes of the Women's Studies Council and annual Strategic Planning Reports.

Directors

The Office of the Provost assists in reclassifying two staff positions in the Women's & Gender Studies in 1999. Director and Coordinator

2018 - Present Elizabeth Sharp (Human Development and Family Services)
2011 - 2018 Charlotte Dunham (Sociology)
2007 - 2010 Laura Calkins (History)
2004 - 2006 Charlotte Dunham (Sociology)
1999 - 2004 Gwen Sorell (Human Development and Family Services)

Coordinators

The Women's & Gender Studies was developed with one staff position in 1983.

2008 - present Tricia Earl
2004 - 2008 Esther Lichti
1989 - 1999 Gwen Sorell (Human Development and Family Services)
1986 - 1989 Laurie Churchill (Classical and Romance Languages)
1985 - 1986 Nancy Hickerson (Anthropology)
1983 - 1985 Marietta Morrisey (Sociology)

Timeline

1981
ASCAP approves the Women's & Gender Studies. Women's Studies is an undergraduate, interdisciplinary program to be housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. The minor is also approved. Two students decide to pursue minors in women's studies.

1982
The first Women's Studies Colloquim is established.

The Sexual Harassment Committee completes a policy for sexual harassment to be presented to the Dean of Arts and Sciences; with minor changes, it is accepted and implemented by the College of Arts and Sciences.

1983
President Cavazos asked the Women's Studies Council to develop a policy, to expand the base of the program outside of the College of Arts and Sciences, and to provide a statement of the long range and short range goals of the council.

Marietta Morrisey from the Sociology Department assumes coordinatorship of the program.

Betty Friedan American feminist, activist, author speaks on "Changing Sex Roles, 1963-1983"

1984
The First All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Academia is held. A Steering Committee is created to arrange the conference details.

1985
Women's Studies is formally accepted as a program of study in the Interdisciplinary Master's Program administered by the Graduate School.

Nancy Hickerson
from the Anthropology Department assumes the coordinatorship of the program.

At the request of the Office of Academic Affairs and with their support, the Women's Studies Council forms a committee to research women and men's salaries on the campus.

1986
The Texas Tech Association for the Advancement of Women in Higher Education (TTAAWHE) is formed. Its activities include sponsorship of spring and fall receptions for women faculty and a colloquium series. These activities are coordinated by Women's Studies Council volunteers.

Laurie Churchill
from the Classical and Romance Languages Department assumes coodinatorship of the program.

1987
A committee is formed to research the development of an entry-level WS course.

1989
Responsibility for the program is moved from the College of Arts and Sciences to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.

Gwen Sorell
, from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, assumes the coordinatorship of the WS Program.

The Florence Brown En Avant Club Scholarship is endowed by Professor Preston Gott, Physics Department, in memory of Edna Maynard Gott. Edna Maynard Gott was a founding member of the Women's & Gender Studies.

Gloria Steinem, Emmy Award-winning writer, lecturer, editor and feminist activist speaks in Lubbock.

1990
The Women's Studies Council agrees to seek approval for an Introductory Women's Studies course WS 2300, after volunteers from the Council develop a course outline.

The Graduate Council gives approval for a WS 5300 Directed Studies course.

The Women's Studies Council is given a permanet seat on the Affirmative Action Committee.

A Sexual Harassment Education project is approved by the Women's Studies Council and the Coordinator of the WS Program begins making presentations at the request of other campus units. Cooperation with the Dean of Students office and the Office of Affirmative Action and Personnel Relations results in the appointment of the university wide Sexual Harassment Committee.

1992
The Academic Council approves WS 2300 an Introductory Women's Studies course. WS 4300 course will be kept as a capstone course for the WS minor, but will not be offered when the WS 2300 is offered because of funding.

1993
The Women's & Gender Studies joins the National Council for Research on Women.

1994
WS 2300 course is taught in the Spring semester for the first time. The course has been approved to fulfill the Individual and Group Behavior general education requirement.

An Ad Hoc Committee is formed to consider the ways that the Women's Studies Council can mentor new women faculty.

1995
The Edna Maynard Gott Memorial Lending Library for Women's Studies is established with materials provided by Preston Gott and the College of Human Sciences.

The Annual All-University Conference expands to include women from other institutions throughout the Panhandle, South Plains and Permian Basin.

Gwen Sorell, Coordinator of the program, takes a development leave in the Spring semester. Mary Jane Hurst becomes the Acting Coordinator of Women's Studies during Gwen Sorell's absence.

1996
The procedure to have Women's Studies courses crosslisted begins.

The Women's Studies Community Connection (WSCC), a community based group to support the Women's & Gender Studies, is formed.

The Women's Resource Network (WRN) is formed and is an officially registered student organization.

1997
Cross-listing of all courses relating to the Women's Studies minor is approved by the State Coordinating Board on Higher Education. This allows student transcripts to reflect their enrollment in Women's Studies courses.

The Women's Studies Community Connection designs and begins a Mentoring Program to pair Tech students with professional, community women that is in a field of work the Tech student is interested in.

Cross-listed WS courses are approved as meeting the same General Education requirement as their discipline-based conterparts.

An Ad Hoc Committee is formed to work on the issue of alleged rapes at fraternity houses as a way to look at implementing a rape prevention program.

1998
Women's Studies co-sponsors a visit from Dr. Yvonne Shafer, professor of theatre St. Johns University, who presents six class lectures and two public lectures during her visit.

Women's Studies, with the History Department, sponsors the visit of Dena Goodman, Professor of History and Director of Women's Studies and Gender Studies at Louisiana State University, to Texas Tech.

1999
Visiting Scholar - Anita Claire Fellman, Professor of History and Director of Women's Studies at Old Dominion University.

Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) is established on campus, and becomes a registered student organization.

A committee is established to consider how to include a Feminist Theories course into the minor.

A committee is established to investigate issues of funding, curriculum, and procedures in the concentration in Women's Studies within the Master's Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.

The Office of the Provost assists in reclassifying two staff positions in the Women's & Gender Studies. Dr. Gwen Sorell's title is changed from Coordinator to Director. The Office of the Provost accepts responsibility for evaluating the Director's adminstrative work.

The WS Program participates in activities associated with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October and helps coordinate events on campus with TTU Student Health and the student organization FMLA.

Approval of new courses and changes in the undergraduate WS course listings go into effect Fall 2000 include WS 4399 (Women's Studies Seminar), WS 4305 (Directed Studies, a new course), WS 4310 (Feminist Though and Theory, a new course), and WS 3332 (Feminism and Philosophy, a course cross-listed with PHIL 3332)

2002
Dr. Sue V. Rosser of Georgia Tech delivered a keynote address on "Key Barriers for Institutions Seeking to Retain Women Scientists and Engineers" and Historian Londa Schiebinger of Penn State delivered a second keynote, "Has Feminism Changed Science?" at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Women's Leadership Program begins under the guidance of the Women's & Gender Studies and the Center for Campus Life

2003
Lotte Bailyn, Professor of Management at MIT's Sloan School of Management, Co-Director of the MIT Workplace Center, and co-author of Beyond Work-Family Balance delivered the keynote on "Gender Equity in Academia." at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Stephanie Coontz delivered a second keynote on "Why Working Mothers are Here to Stay." She is the author of The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap; The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with American's Changing Families; and American Families: A Multicultural Reader at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

2004
Director, Dr. Charlotte Dunham & Coordinator, Esther Lichti

Dr. Charlotte Dunham (TTU, Associate Professor, Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work) delivered the keynote address at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education on the report of the Provost's Task Force on Gender Issues. A panel discussion featuring the Chancellor and other administrators was also conducted.

The Women's Studies administrative office and lending library are located in the Administration Building RM 213.

2005
Dr. Margarethe Cammermeyer, PhD, RN, Colonel, USAR, retired gave the keynote address on "If You Are Uncomfortable, That's Where You Need To Be” at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Yanar Mohammad, Director of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq presented on “Women Under Siege in the Postwar Iraq” at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Susan McKay a psychologist, nurse and professor of Women's Studies and adjunct professor of International Studies and Nursing at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming discussed “Girls at War” at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Carol Burke an Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Irvine gave a lecture entitled “From Dominatrix to Damsel in Distress: Images of women in the recent Iraq War” concerning women in the military at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Holly Johnson an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati discussed “What's a Girl Like You Doing in a Situation Like This?: Conflict and Congeniality in an enlisted Life" at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

2006

The Graduate Certificate Program (GCP) was approved in 2006 by the Texas Tech University Graduate School, TTU Academic Council, and the State of Texas Coordinating Board. Students may pursue this certificate in Women's Studies as either a graduate minor field or a supplemental post-baccalaureate credential.

Women's Leadership Program ends under the guidance of the Women's & Gender Studies and the Center for Campus Life

2007
Director, Dr. Laura Calkins & Coordinator, Dr. Esther Lichti

Diana Washinton Valedez spoke on “Who is Killing the Women of Juarez and Why?” at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Dr. Paula Gunn Allen spoke on “Would the Real Pocahontas Please Stand Up? Pocahontas the American Myth and the Actual Powhatan Girl” at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Dr. Lynda Dixon, a Professor of Interpersonal Communications at Bowling Green State University, spoke on “Native Women in Higher Education: The Scarcity, the Conflicts, the Hope” at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

2008
Director, Dr. Laura Calkins
Coordinator, Dr. Esther Lichti retires from the University (Spring)
Tricia Earl, MFA is appointed as Coordinator (Summer)

Kimberlee Kearfott, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, University of Michigan, spoke on “Being Different: One Woman Engineering Professor's Lessons from the Eye of the Storm” at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Dr. Alice Hogan, former program director, NSF ADVANCE PROGRAM, spoke on “From Leaky Pipelines to Glass Cliffs: Structural Perspectives on Women In Science”at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Dr. Anne MacLachlan, Senior Researcher at UC Berkeley's Center for Studies in Higher Education, spoke on “Where Are All the Women Scientists of Color?” at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

The WS Program participates in activities associated with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Feed Your Body and Soul Week, Week Without Violence, GLBT & Ally Awareness Month.

2009

In Memoriam - Dr. Gwen Sorell

September 1, 2009 The Women's & Gender Studies is housed under the College of Arts & Science under Dean Lawrence Schovanec, PhD

Gloria Steinem, Emmy Award-winning writer, lecturer, editor and feminist activist speaks at the 25th Anniversary of the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

Tthe first Gender & Gender Identity Colloquium was held to provide the academic community an opportunity to present papers on, analyze, and discuss gender specific topics. The purpose of the Gender & Gender Identity colloquium is to highlight feminist research and debates over the meanings of gender. Topics have included gender and media, gender and political activism, cultural construction of gender, and psychology of sex roles.

The WS Program participates in activities associated with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Feed Your Body and Soul Week, Week Without Violence, GLBT & Ally Awareness Month.

October 26, 2009 the Women's Studies administrative office and lending library are moved to Holden Hall RM 8

2010
Dr. Laura Calkins completes her three year contract as Director (Fall)
Tricia Earl, MFA continued her duties as Coordinator

December 1, 2010 the Women's & Gender Studies is housed under the Division of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Community Engagement

Winona LaDuke, internationally renowned activist working on sustainable development, climate change and environmental justice in Native America speaks at the Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education

The second Gender & Gender Identity Colloquium was held to provide the academic community an opportunity to present papers on, analyze, and discuss gender specific topics.

The WS Program participates in activities associated with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Feed Your Body and Soul Week, Week Without Violence, GLBT & Ally Awareness Month.

The first Feminist Forums are offered (Spring & Fall)

2011
Dr. Charlotte Dunham appointed as Director (Fall)
Tricia Earl, MFA continued her duties as Coordinator

Shelby Knox, an itinerant feminist organizer speaks at the 27th Annual All-University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education. Ms. Knox discussed her research on today's feminist movement as well as shared examples of how intergenerational feminists have come together for the same goal – seeking equality for all people, regardless of societal prejudices.

September 1, 2011 the Women's Studies administrative office and lending library are moved to DOAK Hall RM's 123 & 125

Women's History Month celebrated with various events

International Women's Day is celebrated with a film viewing

Women's Equality Day Forum is hosted on campus

Ellen Ratner, White House Correspondent and Bureau Chief for The Talk Radio News Service, covering the White House and providing exclusive reports to talk radio stations from the Congress and government agencies spoke with TTU faculty, staff and students. Read more of the article in the Daily Toreador

The third Gender & Gender Identity Colloquium was held to provide the academic community an opportunity to present papers on, analyze, and discuss gender specific topics

The Inaugural Women In Leadership Symposium is hosted by The Division of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Community Engagement in partnership with the Texas Diversity Council.

The WS Program participates in activities associated with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Feed Your Body and Soul Week, Week Without Violence, GLBT & Ally Awareness Month.

Feminist Majority Leadershiop Alliance (FMLA) is re-established on campus, and becomes a registered student organization. Link to facebook page

Feminist Forums are offered (Spring & Fall)

Four Scholarships were awarded for FY2011-2012; Three Undergraduate awards and One Graduate award.

Women's Studies Undergraduate Minor LaTreshia Hamilton (Senior, Major Psychology) was chosen for the President's Congressional Internship Program In Washington DC this fall. She interned for US Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee (18th District of Texas).

Coordinator, Tricia Earl, awarded the President's Excellence in Diversity & Equity Award for staff

After 15 years of service in the Lubbock Community and a support group for the Women's & Gender Studies the Women's Studies Community Connection (WSCC) dissolves.

2012

In Memoriam - Freda McVay and Sandy River

28th Annual All-University Conference was held in April with keynote speakers; Robin Chandler, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of African American Studies, Northeastern University) and Jensine Larsen (founder of World Pulse). We were also honored to have Olutosin Oladosu - Adebowale, Founder/Coordinator, Stop The Abuse of Rights, via Skype to speak about her current work in Nigeria.

Binding Equality: A Women's Studies Symposium was hosted at the Museum of Texas Tech during Women's History Month.

Title IX: 40th Anniversary forum was conducted with guest speakers Dr. Judi Henry, Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Jody Roginson, Internal Communications Director and Instructor in Department of Mass Communications

Half the Sky Film Screening

Women's History Month celebrated with various events

Women's Equality Day is hosted on campus

International Women's Day is celebrated with a forum hosted my members of the newly formed Women for Women International (TTU Registered Student Organization)

Feminist Forums are offered (Spring & Fall)

Six Scholarships were awarded for FY2012-2013; Five Undergraduate awards and One Graduate award.

The WS Program participates in activities associated with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Feed Your Body and Soul Week, Week Without Violence, GLBT & Ally Awareness Month.

Developed a Career Guide to help guide parents and students when answering the question; "What can I do with this Minor?"

Developed a general poster to advertise the Program. Click here...

Note: The information above was compiled from reviewing meeting minutes of the Women's Studies Council and annual strategic planning reports.