In this article: Organizational structure | The demand | History of the program | Curriculum
When professor of English Pam Corpron Parker was asked to be English department chair in 2005, she hoped another faculty member would be appointed as director of the women's and gender studies program.
That has yet to happen.
"I've been disappointed there hasn't been a faculty member appointed as director in two years," Corpron Parker said.
Women's and gender studies is an interdisciplinary minor available to students that includes courses such as the Thailand Study Program, Women Writers, Psychology of Women, and Marriage, Sex and Gender.
Corpron Parker said she has addressed her concern with dean of faculty Michael Le Roy, but has not seen any concrete action yet.
Corpron Parker said she still serves as the de facto director of the program to make sure the women's and gender studies classes are scheduled and minors have an adviser.
"Right now, we're really hoping for the good will of the dean to appoint or hire a new director. There needs to be more systematic and monetary support for the program," Corpron Parker said. "There has to be commitment from an administrative and institutional level for the program to continue and thrive."
Marie Drews, lecturer in English who is now teaching the Intro course for the minor, said people across disciplines need to be in communication about the program and there has been a loss of that communication.
"This kind of program needs to have structures in place to make sure it is managed. The institution has to make pointed and direct changes to support the program," Drews said.
Dale Soden, vice president for planning, has said he recognizes Whitworth is "thin" in its support for the program in comparison to other liberal arts institutions, especially non-Christian institutions.
"I know certain faculty have much stronger feelings about women's history and the importance of women's studies. They have expressed frustrations about a lack of administrative support. I think they have a case to be made," Soden said.
He does think Whitworth is on the positive side in relation to its Christian college peers, he said.
Organizational structure
Le Roy recognizes there is work to be done for the program. Le Roy said the university is currently considering what the right way to organize faculty oversight and teaching for the program.
"We still need to get an organizational structure in place for the women's and gender studies program. We need to get a vision for the program," Le Roy said.
The new U.S. cultural studies minor also does not have a director, Le Roy said. But it does have a different organizational structure with a coordinator and a steering committee. Le Roy said he is currently considering this model for the women's and gender studies program.
Le Roy said having a single faculty member with specific women's and gender studies administrative responsibility would place the weight of the program on one person rather than making it spread across disciplines.
"The feedback I've been given from an number of people is that we need people who have training in this as one of their areas of expertise among others rather than one person trying to carry it all," Le Roy said.
Le Roy said this is taken into consideration when creating new tenure-track positions where the need to teach a gender class can be included. For example, he said an interim position hired to teach the history of the Americas could be required to teach a women's history class if it becomes a tenure-track position.
"There's not one right way to do this. There are pros and cons of every approach," Le Roy said. "If it is more dispersed, it can work as long as that group of people is willing to carry those commitments forward. The downside is if the faculty lose interest."
Caryn Riswold, who chairs the gender studies program at Illinois College when she is not on sabbatical, came to campus April 27 to give a lecture on Christianity and feminism. While she was here, she met with professors in the women's and gender studies program for lunch and spoke to faculty and administrators.
Riswold said her duty as chair is more of a coordinator position involving paperwork and calling meetings. The program, which currently offers a multi-discipline minor somewhat similar to Whitworth, has always involved a committee that makes all decisions, including approving courses for the program and evaluating senior projects, she said.
"It reinforces the idea that you can't just have one department [or] one person dealing with this," Riswold said. "We have found it more effective for influencing campus culture."
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