Editor's note: the following is the first in a four-day series highlighting the experiences of women at Ohio University and in Athens.
Two years after the Women's Center's inception, the center's staff is working to fulfill its mission while balancing programming and meeting the needs of women at Ohio University.
The need for a women's center was very
very clear said Susanne Dietzel, director of the Women's Center. I think it is very clear that even though at some universities and here only slightly
women constitute the majority of students doesn't mean that the numbers have translated into equity. I think if you ask women on campus
they would say that they are not full and equal participants.
OU had a Women's Center in 1973, but it closed after only three years. The center was not reopened until 2007, with the opening of the new Baker University Center. Every public university in Ohio has a women's center except for the University of Akron and Central State University.
The center receives $144,600 per year for operational costs, while Dietzel's salary is $72,800.
Since the center reopened, it has helped students and staff at OU, through programs like Brown Bag Lunch and Learn, Girlfriend's Guide to Activism, a mentoring program and movie nights.
Dietzel said all of the programming done at the center is deliberate and designed to be academic, while promoting women's issues and meeting the goals of the center's mission statement.
However, some students, like Chelsie Wollett, said the center could be doing more to strengthen its presence on campus.
(The Women's Center is) this huge open space
said Wollett, a senior studying mathematics. It's got all these chairs
all these tables
all these meeting places
yet there is never anybody in here. I think they should do something to get more people involved
whether it's mentoring or activities during the day. People go through Baker all day.
Dietzel said that much of the work done in the Women's Center is behind the scenes
working with students and faculty to address personal problems.
Change is not measurable through programs alone
