The 1998 Annual Report: The Center for Gender Studies

A look back over 1997-98 shows a year of considerable accomplishments for the Center. Despite initial setbacks-my medical leave and the frustrating loss of our independent budget line-we mounted a successful student research conference, collected data for a major research initiative, helped to produce and promote a successful Women's Month on campus, and provided support and help for a number of students developing their own research on gender.

The Third Radford University Student Research Conference on Gender drew presenters from many departments here at Radford: criminal justice, dance, psychology, English, media studies, social work, and geology. It also attracted presenters and registrants from thirteen different colleges and universities in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. Topics of student presentations ranged from an examination of reactions to the Million Woman March, to men's attitudes toward date rape, wives coping with the post traumatic stress of their Vietnam veteran husbands, the writings of Willa Cather, women and the Internet, and women's spirituality. Presentation formats included formal papers, posters, poetry, and dance. The keynote address, by Dr. Mary Crawford of West Chester University in Pennsylvania, explored ways in which research on women and gender has been undervalued in the past, and how such research has made a difference to the lives of women and men. A number of Radford University faculty members chaired sessions at the conference. The efforts of these faculty members, along with those of the small group of student volunteers who helped with organization, staffing of the registration desk, and post-conference tasks, were critical to the success of the conference.

Part of the Center's mission is to carry out research. In the fall, we collected data from hundreds of students at Radford University, and from samples at several other institutions, to examine students' academic self-views. We are still sifting through these data. However, our initial results suggest that women and men on this campus continue to view their talents and future choices in gender-stereotyped ways. Women are more wary than men are of mathematics, the physical sciences, and business, for example. These findings show that there is no basis for complacency with respect to gender issues on this campus: they underline the importance of the Center's existence and work. A formal presentation of the research findings is planned for the fall semester.

This year, under the financial sponsorship of the Student Activities Budget Committee, through the efforts of the Women's Alliance student group, a successful Women's Month program was held at Radford university. Our conference was one of the major events of that month, but the Center also helped to sponsor (with the Women's Alliance and the College of Education and Human Development) another important Women's Month event: a presentation and panel discussion on Women in Higher Education by Dr. Ludmilla Karpova from Russia and Ms. Kathryn Koop from Yugoslavia. This well-attended presentation helped to bring an international flavor to Women's Month, giving our students and faculty the opportunity to engage in dialogue about how the situation of women differs around the world. We do not yet know if and how funding for Women's Month will be available for the coming academic year. We hope that the university will find a way to continue to recognize the importance of having an observance of Women's Month on this campus which has historical roots as a women's college and where women make up the majority of the student body.

An important aspect of the Center's focus has always been helping students to develop their own scholarly and research expertise in the realm of gender. This year, once again, as is obvious from the listing on the following pages, students who worked with the Center learned new skills, made public presentations of their work both on and off campus, and generally made us proud. They continue to make us proud after they leave us. What happens to the students who have worked with the Center when they graduate from Radford and move on? Here are a few of the success stories of students who have worked with us over the past few years. Susan Freedman is finishing up a Ph.D. in psychology; Adam Plaster is in medical school; Claudia Diaz is working in a research position at the Medical University of South Carolina; Sudie Back is beginning a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology; Nicole Childers-Daniels is doing a practicum in counseling in North Carolina; Emily W-Stallings is lecturing in Communication Studies at Virginia Tech; Randee Huber just completed her degree in social work. I know that these individuals will make a difference in the world and am pleased that the Center was a part of their experience here at Radford.

I have appreciated the help, support and encouragement of a many people this year: the students and other volunteers who have worked for and with the Center, the faculty members who have come to meetings, sent messages of encouragement, and urged their students to submit papers to the conference or attend our events, the growing number of Friends of the Center for Gender Studies who lend their financial and moral support. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to another successful year for the Center.

Women in Higher Education: Integrating the Personal, Professional and Spiritual: Panel, Discussion, and Reception with Dr. Ludmilla Karpova, of the Linguistic University in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia and Ms. Kathryn Koop, of the International Organization for Migration, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, March 26, 1998. The panel, discussion, and reception was presented as part of Radford University's Women's Month, sponsored by the Women's Alliance, with funding from the Student Activities Board Committee. Co-sponsored by the College of Education and Human Development and the Center for Gender Studies.

Dr. Mary Crawford, Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Feminist Research: Generations of Change. Keynote address at the Third Annual Radford University Student Research Conference on Gender, March 21, 1998.

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. This year, two awards were presented in a brief ceremony at the Student Research Conference on Gender. Dr. Marie Waters, who was responsible for initiating the awards, made the presentations. Congratulations to the two Kemp Award recipients of 1997-98: Maria Zanardo and Samantha Lively. The title of Maria Zanardo's research project was "The Impact of Women in Advertisements on Sexual Attitudes". She presented her findings from this project at the Radford University Student Research Conference on Gender. Samantha Lively's project was titled "Location Strategies used by Hippocampal Lesioned and Non-Hippocampal Lesioned Rats". She presented the preliminary information about this project at the Radford University Undergraduate Forum and her research is continuing.

The core of our mission as a Center is to construct a visible and significant place-a central place-for scholarship and teaching on gender issues. Our mission statement includes the notion that the Center will "serve as a responsible broker of gender-relevant knowledge and experience for students and other members of the academic community." In these times of vastly increased possibilities for electronic communication and sharing of information, we would be remiss if we did not extend the Center's reach into cyberspace. With these issues in mind, last year we initiated a site on the World Wide Web ( http://gstudies.asp.radford.edu/ ). This year, we have upgraded and updated the site. Please visit! It is a lively and interesting site that includes information about the Center, our research projects, our student research conferences and other events, and provides links to other web sites that are relevant to gender studies and women's studies. Currently "under construction" on the site is a photo gallery containing a visual record of our student research conferences. The Center is indebted to Wayne Andrew for his many hours of work on this project.

Buckalew, L. (1998, March). Regional comparisons of gender differences in relation to current and possible selves. Paper presented at the Third Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Childers-Daniels, N. & Barnett, S. (1998, March). Relationship patterns among males and females within the Black community. Paper presented at the Third Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Hudson, G. (1998, March). Current self and possible self-conceptualization: A comparison of two academic settings. Paper presented at the Third Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Hudson, G., & Elliot, A. N. (1988, March). Margaret F. Washburn and Mary W. Calkins: The variability hypothesis as a possible explanation for their paradoxical relationships with their mentors. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for Women in Psychology, Baltimore, MD.

Lips, H. M. (1998, March). Power and its relationship to gender: Perceptions among Puerto Rican and Virginia university students. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for Women in Psychology, Baltimore, MD.

Lips, H. M. (1998, June). Gendered possibilities: Young women's and men's visions of their future power and competence. Invited address, Canadian Psychological Association convention, Edmonton, Alberta.

Lips, H. M. (1998, May). Peering into the kaleidoscope: Incorporating global perspectives into the psychology of women course. Invited presentation to the Teaching Institute of the American Psychological Society convention, Washington, DC.

Lips, H. M. (1998, June). "If I were a leader ...": University students' visions of themselves as future powerholders. Paper presented as part of the invited symposium on Gender, Hierarchy and Leadership (Alice Eagly, Chair), national convention of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Ann Arbor, MI.

Lips, H. M., & Wilson, L. A. (1997, October). What is possible for me? Gender and academic self-concept among university students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Regional Chapter of the Association for Women in Psychology, Wilmington, NC.

Rogers, M. (1998, March). Powerful models and chosen careers. Paper presented at the Third Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Wilson, L. A., (1998, January). Women's self-perceptions of their possible selves in math- and science-related areas. Presentation to the Radford chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Wilson, L. A.. ( 1998, March). The influence of stereotypical beliefs and expectations on females' performance in mathematics. Paper presented at the Third Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Wilson, L. A., St. Clair, K., & Wilson, M. (1998, March). Women in science: An integration of research findings and personal experience. Roundtable session presented at the Third Annual Student Research Conference on Gender, Radford University.

Back, S., & Lips, H. M. (in press). Child sexual abuse: Victim age, victim gender, and observer gender as factors contributing to attributions of responsibility. Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal.

Student members of the research group: Lisa Buckalew, Ginger Hudson, Melanie Rogers, Lori Wilson

Advisory Group: Mary Atwell, Moira Baker, Sue Conrad, Steven Culver, Margaret Devaney, Anna Fariello, Mary Ferrari, Dianne Friedman, Rhett Herman, Janet Hahn, Alastair Harris, Sharon Hartline, Randee Huber, Kay Jordan, Raiza Kolia, Rita Kranidis, Heidi Levine, Pat Shoemaker, Ginny Weisz, Jane Wemhoener.

Friends of the Center for Gender Studies: Ms. Jo Alderman, Alliant Techsystems, Ms. April Asbury, Ms. Karen Asquith, Ms. Sudie Back, Dr. Thomas Bruneau, Ms. Dawn Bullen, Dr. Beth Carlson-Nelson, Dr. Jeffery L. Chase, Dr. Sue Conrad, Dr. Steve Culver, Dr. Ann Elliot, Ms. Anna Fariello, Ms.Linda Farynk, Ms. Janet M. Hahn, Dr. Al Harris, Ms. Eleanor Harris, Ms. Sue Plunkett Hill, Mr. James Hughes, Ms. Bonnie Hurlburt, Ms. Brenda Lott, Dr. Dottie Mercer, Ms. Cindy Mikoychik, Ms. Margaret Moore, Dr. Nancy Morehouse, Dr. Belinda Overstreet, Dr. N. Pearson, Ms. Harriet Mauck Regen, Dr. Nora Reilly, Mr. Robert Richards, Dr. Paula Stanley, Dr. Ellie Sturgis, Honorable & Mrs.James C. Turk, Dr. Janet Wagner, Dr. Marie Waters.