The 2000-'01 Annual Report: The Center for Gender Studies

Current Year:
[2001]

Other Years:
['00-'01] ['99-'00] ['98-'99] ['97-'98] ['96-'97] ['95-'96]

A year of challenge, of stimulating discussions, of broadening our horizons: What could be a more engaging agenda for a Center? This is the year that our Center-sponsored visiting speakers caused a stir. In the fall, sociologist Steven Schacht’s lecture on men and feminism (organized by Center Advisory Board member Jeff Aspelmeier) provoked heated debates in classrooms and dueling essays in The Tartan. In the spring, a lecture by political essayist Molly Ivins drew one thousand people to RU’s Preston Auditorium to enjoy her humorous and serious insights about politics, feminism, and life. Both lectures were sponsored by the Center for Gender Studies, the first one with the financial support of Radford University’s Scholarly Lectures Series, and the second with the assistance of an anonymous donor and the Radford University Foundation. Hosting these events helped us to fulfill our mission of facilitating informed and intelligent communication about gender issues, and we are enormously grateful for the financial support that made them possible.

At the end of March, we held the Sixth Radford University Student Research Conference on Gender. The conference drew many participants and presenters from Radford University and it also attracted students and faculty from a variety of other institutions: East Tennessee State University, Emory and Henry College, the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, the University of Tennessee, Virginia Tech, James Madison University, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Washington and Lee University, and Appalachian State University. A day at the conference yielded rich dividends in inspiration and in interesting information about topics as diverse as adolescent sexual behavior, the transgender community, medieval women mystics, academic self-views, evolutionary psychology, and body image. Conference attendees were treated to a screening and discussion of a new documentary film, Beyond Killing Us Softly: The Strength to Resist, hosted by Center Advisory Board member Sandra Brown Kelly and a panel of her students. The session had a powerful impact. One student in the audience wrote: “I felt inspired to show this film to every young adolescent girl I see.” Another highlight of the conference was our keynote speaker, Dr. Martha McCaughey. Her critique of society’s conceptualization of women as helpless victims resonated with many listeners – who later described it as “life-changing” and “unique.” The conference closed with Afterbirth, a dance performance on the theme of childbirth, choreographed by and danced by Radford University students. The performance sent us out energized and moved—a fitting ending to a day that engaged our minds and our emotions.

The RU Center for Gender Studies has been engaged this year with other research/teaching centers. This year we were invited to join the National Council for Research on Women as a member center. Our membership has provided us with opportunities to network with other research centers on a national level and to raise the profile of our own center. For example, the Center is listed in the Resource Guide of forthcoming NCRW report on Balancing the Equation: Where are the Women and Girls in Science, Engineering, and Technology? On another front, our Center was one of eleven institutional partners in an innovative electronic conference on Women’s Organizations and the Building of a Civil Society in the Twenty-First Century: An International Perspective, sponsored by the Global Network. The conference, which ran from December 4 through 22^nd, included online papers posted by authors from many countries: Peru, Poland, Kenya, Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Australia, India and others. These papers were grouped into three themes: Civil Rights and Civil Society, Political Rights and Political Advocacy, and Economic Rights and Economic Development. Interested participants could read abstracts of all papers online, download full papers, and participate in online discussions of the papers. This was an exciting approach to creating a “conversational space” in which people from all over the world could participate. Besides RU’s Center for Gender Studies, other conference partners included groups such as Women’s and Gender Studies at Waikato University in New Zealand, The Center for the Study of Women and Gender at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, the UCLA Center for the Study of Women, and the African Community Education Network. Papers from the conference are still posted on the Web and can be accessed at www.philanthropy.org.

I am very grateful to the many people who helped make this another successful year for the Center. In particular, I thank the co-chairs of our annual fundraising campaign and all the Friends of the Center who contributed to it. Special thanks go out to the very generous donor who made possible our unforgettable evening with Molly Ivins. Also, for sharing their time and energy – those increasingly precious resources – I thank the faculty members who served on the Center’s Advisory Board and those who supported their students’ participation in our conference. Finally, I extend sincere appreciation to the Center’s small staff – our graduate assistant, student researchers, and computer and web page consultant – who helped to create large accomplishments from a small pool of resources. The Center has flourished this year because of their efforts.

Hilary Lips, Director

This Year’s Activities

Presentations Sponsored by the Center:

Dr. Stephen Schacht, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Plattsburgh State University in New York. Why Men Should be Feminists. The presentation was co-sponsored by Radford University Scholarly Lectures and the Center for Gender Studies, October 26, 2000.

Molly Ivins, Author and Political Columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She? The presentation was co-sponsored by the Center for Gender Studies and the Radford University Foundation, March 21, 2001.

Dr. Martha McCaughey, Author and Associate Professor at Virginia Tech. Getting Physical in Theory and Practice: The Importance of the Body in Gender Studies. Keynote address at the Sixth Annual Radford University Student Research Conference on Gender, March 31, 2001.

Beyond Killing Us Softly: The Strength to Resist (Cambridge Documentary Film, 2001). The Southwest Virginia premiere of this film took place at the Radford University Student Research Conference on Gender, March 31, 2001. The screening was made possible through the generosity of Cambridge Documentary Films.

The Eleanor Kemp Award:

A fund to encourage and support undergraduate research and scholarship has been established in memory of Dr. Eleanor E. Kemp. Dr. Kemp was a dedicated professor of psychology at Radford University for many years, and was a founding member of the Center for Gender Studies. We remember her with fondness and gratitude each year by presenting these awards in her name.

This year, three awards were presented in a brief ceremony at the Student Research Conference on Gender.

Dr. Alastair Harris made the presentations. Congratulations to the Kemp Award recipients of 2000-2001: Jessie Zahorian, Shaun Richardson, Sarah Grindstaff, and Carly Saunders. The title of Jessie Zahorian’s research project was “Gender Differences in Perception of Commitment and Sexual Intent”. The title of Shaun Richardson and Sarah Grindstaff’s research project was “Attributed Problem-Solving Skills of Professionals with Gender-Typical and Gender-Atypical Occupations”. Carly Saunders’ research project was entitled “Academic Self-Views: Gender Differences in Current and Possible Selves”. All of the recipients presented their findings at the Radford University Student Research Conference on Gender.

The Susan Freedman and Sudie Back
Award for Distinguished Service to the Center for Gender Studies
This award is presented on an occasional basis to a student employee or volunteer whose contribution to the Center for Gender Studies has been outstanding and well above and beyond the call of duty. It is named for two former student assistants whose work made an enormous impact on the development of the Center for Gender Studies in earlier years. One of these students, Susan Freedman, filled an unpaid position as a Research Associate of the Center in the 1991-92 academic year, during which her efforts were crucial in helping us to launch the research aspect of our program and to establish the Center as a presence on the Radford University campus. The second student, Sudie Back, was the Center’s graduate assistant in 1995-96, the year of our first Student Research Conference on Gender. Her talent, enthusiasm, and outreach skills were critical to the establishing of this conference. We honor and celebrate the excellent work of these two former students in naming this award after them.
This year, we recognize the outstanding work of another student, Johanna Trumbull. Johanna has been the official graduate assistant for the Center for the last year and a half. Her competence, efficiency, creativity, reliability and optimism have helped the Center to accomplish its goals during this time. We are pleased to present her with this award in recognition of, and in gratitude for, her substantial and important service to the Center.

Presentations by Center Personnel:
Haynes, M. (2001, March). Ethnic Differences Regarding Women Student’s Attitudes Toward their Futures. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Hudson, G, & Lips, H. (2000, August). Exploration of the Usefulness of the Disempowerment Scale. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association 108^th Annual Convention, Washington, D.C.

Kerwin, G. (2001, March). In the Eye of the Beholder: The Relationship Between Media Consumption and Body Dissatisfaction Among Men and Women. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Lane, T. (2001, March). Women’s and Men’s Narratives about Academic Choice: Preliminary Findings from Interviews with University Students. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Lips, H. M. (2000, September). Power and Gender in Families. Invited paper at the conference on “Strength in Numbers: Appalachian Women in Transition”, University of Virginia’s College at Wise, VA.

Lips, H. M., & Murthi, M. (2000, August). Possible Powerful Selves Among Working Women and Men in India. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association 108^th Annual Convention, Washington, D.C.

Lips, H. M. (2000, June). Strategies for Increasing International and Intercultural Content in Courses on the Psychology of Women and Gender. Invited address, presented at the Teaching Institute of the American Psychological Society meetings, Miami, FL.

Paxton, D. (2001, March). The Relationship of Future Hopes and Fears to Gender. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Rice, M., & Lips, H. M. (2000, August). College Students’ Perceptions of and Experiences with Power. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association 108^th Annual Convention, Washington, D.C.

Saunders, C. (2001, March). Academic Self-View: Gender Differences Between Current and Possible Selves. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Trumbull, J., Ross, J., & Gentry, L. A. (2001, March). A Study of Adolescent Sexual Behavior in Females. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Publications:

Lips, H. M. (2000). Using science fiction to teach the psychology of sex and gender. In Ward, M. E., & Johnson, D. E. (Eds), Handbook for teaching introductory psychology. Vol. II, pp. 256-257. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Inc. (Reprinted from Teaching of Psychology, Vol. 17).

Lips, H. M. (2000). Sex and Gender: An Introduction (Fourth Edition). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

Lips, H. M. (2001). Lesson learned in women’s studies classrooms [Review of the book Teaching introduction to women’s studies: Expectations and strategies]. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25, 168

People Who Kept the Center Going in 2000-2001

Director: Hilary M. Lips

Graduate Research Assistant:Johanna Trumbull

Student members of the research group: Maggie Haynes, Greg Kerwin, Titus Lane, Elizabeth Owens, Delores Paxton, Carly Saunders

Advisory Board: Dr. Jeffery Aspelmeier, Dr. Ann Elliott, Dr. Dianne Friedman, Lucy Hochstein, Sandra Brown Kelly, Dr. Hilary Lips, Stephanie Michel, Dr. Eloise Philpot, Dr. Lynn Saubert

Conference Planning Committee: Jeffery Aspelmeier, Ann Elliott, Lucy Hochstein, Sandra Brown Kelly, Hilary Lips, Eloise Philpot, Lynn Saubert, Johanna Trumbull

Co-chairs of the Friends of the Center Campaign: Marie Waters and Jo Alderman

Friends of the Center for Gender Studies: Ms. Jo Alderman, Dr. Mary W. Atwell, Alliant Techsystems, Ms. April Asbury, Ms. Karen Asquith, Ms. Sudie Back, Anne C. Borthwick, Dr. Thomas Bruneau, Ms. Dawn Bullen, Dr. Beth Carlson-Nelson, Dr. Jeffrey L. Chase, Ms. Anne Chisom, Ms. Billee P. Connolly, Dr. Sue Peterson Conrad, Dr. Steve Culver, Dr. Ann Elliott, Ms. Anna Fariello, Ms. Linda Farynk, Dr. Ann S. Ferren, Ms. Laura Jane Fincen, Ms. Susan Alexandra Freedman, Ms. Janet M. Hahn, Dr. Al Harris, Ms. Eleanor Harris, Ms. Sue Plunkett Hill, Ms. Lucy E. Hochstein, Dr. Diane M. Hodge, Mr. James H. Hughes and Dr. Jan N. Hughes, Ms. Bonnie Hurlburt, Ms. Brenda Lott, Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Majoy, Dr. Dottie Mercer, Ms. Stephanie Michel, Ms. Cynthia Louvenia Mikoychik, Margaret W. Moore, Dr. Nancy W. Morehouse, Dr. Belinda Overstreet, Dr. N. Pearson, Dr. Thomas Pierce, Ms. Harriet Mauck Regen, Dr. Nora P. Reilly, Mr. Robert Richards, Dr. Paula Stanley, Ms. Emily Wilkinson Stallings, Dr. Paula H. Stanley, Dr. Ellie Sturgis, Honorable & Mrs. James C. Turk, Dr. Janet Wagner, Dr. Marie Waters.
Web page consultations: Wayne Andrew