May 2018
In the spring of 2018, Washington State University Regents approved a strategic realignment plan and later that summer, Matthew Jockers, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, announced the creation of the new Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), to be administratively housed within the Department of English. The name provides an inclusive title for the program and highlights the opportunity for a broad scope of study. Also announced was the appointment of Associate Professor Pamela Thoma as the first director of WGSS. An expert in Asian American literary and cultural studies, world literature, feminist media studies, and feminist theory, Thoma has over 20 years of experience in related higher education and plans to continue emphasizing faculty, staff, and students’ long-standing commitment to intersectionality and gender justice. The new structure of the program will build on the strengths of an expanded Affiliate Faculty, one that draws on research expertise from across WSU campuses and collaborations in teaching through cross-listed courses. For more information on WGSS Affiliate Faculty please follow this link. As an interdisciplinary degree program, WGSS will continue to offer the major (BA) in women’s studies and minors in women’s studies and queer studies in Pullman, the minor in women’s studies on the Vancouver campus, and Global Campus courses. Plans for the future include undergraduate and graduate certificates in WGSS.
For more information on the creation of the WGSS program:
https://cas.wsu.edu/2018/05/15/academic-merger-to-bring-new-opportunities-for-students-faculty/
https://cas.wsu.edu/2018/06/14/thoma-to-direct-program-in-womens-studies/
Top Photo: Pamela Thoma takes advantage of some nice weather to teach a WGSS class outside on the WSU Pullman campus.