After 31 years, women of Ohio University and the Athens area will once again have a place of their own at the new OU Women's Center.
The Center will be a large, open area in the new student center with a library, lounge seating area and a conference room, said Charlene Smith, associate provost for program implementation. It is set to open Feb. 10.
The Center will work as a facilitator to integrate the many resources and services for women on campus, Smith said. It will have a close relationship with the women's studies program, said Judith Grant, director of the women's studies program and head of the Provost's Commission on Women.
Nationally and historically
women's studies and women's centers have had a partnership Grant said. Women's studies is a natural partner as far as we're both concerned with issues of women gender and diversity.
To accomplish its goal of bringing resources together, the Center might collaborate with organizations such as the OU Department Of Health Education and Wellness, the Office of Legal Affairs and community programs like My Sister's Place.Searching for a leader
While the Center will provide programming for students, faculty and local residents, Grant said the programs will depend on the Center's director.
The search for a director of the Center began Sept. 15. The search committee, led by Grant, is still looking for a candidate with an advanced degree who qualifies for a tenure track appointment.
It's up to the director to figure out what kind of programming and outreach she can do
Grant said. It's her job to find out what's going wrong on campus and how can she bring people together that can fix that.
Along with the director, there will be funding to employ an administrative associate, a post-doctorate fellowship and a graduate assistant. There will also be opportunities for student employment, Smith said.Funding for the Center
The funding to build the Center was part of money used to build the new student center. Once the Center opens, OU General Operating Funds will supply funding, Smith said. Provost Kathy Krendl authorized a proposed budget of operational costs of $144,600 per year, based on suggestions by Merle Graybill, director of university outreach.
Additional funds may come from grants and fund raising, Smith said.A center at last
Since the first women's center closed in the 1970s, proposals to start one up again have been submitted to former presidents going as far back as Charles Ping, who retired from his position in 1994, Smith said.
Former Women's Affairs Commissioner Linsey Pecikonis and other members of Student Senate created such a proposal and sent it to President Roderick McDavis during the 2004-2005 school year. He and Krendl responded by creating a task force to determine the need for a Women's Center at OU.
The task force, lead by Graybill, discovered that all of OU's peer universities had women's centers, as well as most of the universities in Ohio. The task force recommended that a women's center be established in the new student center.
McDavis' commitment to diversity and the building of the new Baker Center were a few of the things that brought the Women's Center from a proposal to a reality, Smith said.
I think that it gained critical mass to make it happen now (from) the discussions that have emerged over time and with the leadership of the president and provost
she said.
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