UTSA Women's Studies Institute

Unlike most Women and Gender Studies programs or Women's Studies research centers across the nation, we currently function as a student-centered and community outreach institute and as the home for one of Texas newest majors in Women's Studies. This unique identity allows us to center our efforts on research, curriculum, and community engagement in exciting, important, and engaging ways. In April 2007, the major proposal in Women's Studies-drafted by Women's Studies Advisory Committee (WSAC), chaired by Dr. Sharon Navarro was approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The major is officially listed in the UTSA Undergraduate Catalog and we are happy to announce that we've already recruited our first majors! UTSA is one of the top five Hispanic-serving institutions in the US and we at WSI are committed to establishing a Women's Studies program that recognizes our location in South Texas. Alongside the flourishing minor in Women's Studies,our major track in Women's Studies seeks to strengthen the curriculum at UTSA, improve student enrollment and retention rates among the campus large population of minority and nontraditional students, and nurture leadership among female students and faculty. Next on our agenda, the WSAC will propose a graduate certificate and an M.A. degree. All three programs will continue to foster and further establish the culture of women-centered scholarship already present on the UTSA campus. We also seek to forge working relationships with the larger San Antonio community, particularly on issues relating to the development of women's leadership in the 21st Century. The WSI will explore collaborative partnerships with community organizations to distribute information and foster dialogue on issues of concern to working class women. In the tradition of feminist methodologies, WS students will be required to have a service learning component in their studies, offering students a chance to work with women's organizations throughout the community of South Texas. LaPetra Bowman, a Ph.D. candidate and College of Liberal and Fine Arts advisor at UTSA, is currently developing our internship program to facilitate this aspect of our major. The information will be available soon on the website. Additionally, we will continue to sponsor lectures and conferences, host Women's History Month celebrations, and develop a research agenda that provides an intellectual and social climate for faculty, graduate and undergraduate researchers and scholars in Women's Studies that is likely to expand substantially in years to come. I invite you to get involved with WSI and learn more about how women are researching, educating, inspiring, and shaping our multiple communities on and off campus.

- See more at: http://education.utsa.edu/womens-studies/welcome/ .0JfarKwv.dpuf