A note from the Chair:
L. Kaifa Roland
Chair, Women & Gender Studies
As the 2020-2021 academic year comes to an end, I am honored to share with you all of the activities that have been underway, and that are on the horizon next year. Most recently, we had a great graduation on Zoom that you can witness yourself by checking out the video and yearbook links below. You are sure to enjoy award-winning poet Shar Steiman reciting one of his powerful poems.
In this year's graduating class we were proud to have three WGST students named A&S Outstanding Graduates for 2021: Kate Kelly, Emily McIntyre and Kiar Rickert, as well as three students who have successfully completed honors theses in women and gender studies: Jessica Bixler, Mar Galvez Seminario and Alex Kramer. During this year's graduation we also honored our Outstanding Seniors and Creative Activism awardees, and we invite you to read about all of our scholarship winners below. WGST is also on a streak for students receiving the Van Ek Award, with two winners this year鈥攃ongratulations Maggie Friesen and Kiar Rickert!
Our faculty continue to be recognized for their excellence. Professor Maisam Alomar was named a 2021 Career Enhancement Fellow by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, and Professor Kristie Soares was awarded an Outstanding Mentor Award from UROP. WGST is excited to be welcoming new faculty to our ranks next year: Professor Hillary Potter, who will be stepping down from her position as associate dean for inclusive practice in the College of Arts & Sciences, to join us after her fall sabbatical, and Professor Leila G贸mez鈥攚ho received an Outstanding Mentor award from the Graduate School鈥攚ill join our faculty in the fall.
As the CU community is increasingly vaccinated moving into the next academic year, more of our departmental events will be in person. We hope to see some of you there! Still鈥攕ince it has been so successful鈥攚e are looking to continue to offer virtual access to events. You can keep up with all our upcoming events by joining our .
We thank you for all you have done and continue to do to support Women and Gender Studies. As always, we鈥檇 love to hear from you!
Sincerely,
L. Kaifa Roland
Chair, Women and Gender Studies
Congratulations to our
2021 WGST Scholarship
& Award Recipients!
Joanne Easley Arnold
Outstanding Senior Award:
Adriana Colon
Emily McIntyre
Jean Dubofsky Scholarship:
Lillian Drevno
Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Scholarship:
Grace Johnson
Andermarch Cicogna Scholarship:
Kelila Fitch Cook
S. Antoinette Bigelow Scholarship:
Lillian Drevno
Kelila Fitch Cook
Jasmine Rayos
Katherine Storm
WGST Creative Activism Award:
Shar Steiman
for his poem Holding Cell
&
Brooklyn Martin, Isabella Martinez, Leah Steiner, Nina Patterson, Kelea Reed, & Taylor Turbyne Lambert
for their group project,
Mutant: The Intersection of Sexual Trauma and Rediscovering Pleasure
We're proud to introduce the WGST Class of 2021 with our 'Virtual Yearbook', filled with profiles of our graduates. You can also view the video from our virtual Commencement ceremony, featuring student addresses and the presentation of degrees.
View the 'Virtual Yearbook' at
www.colorado.edu/wgst/2021Yearbook
2021 WGST Scholarship & Award Recipients
Learn more about our 2021 scholarship & award recipients, including our Joanne Arnold Outstanding Seniors: Adriana Colon & Emily McIntyre, as well as the winners of our scholarships named for Lucile Berkeley Buchanan, Jean Dubofsky, Antoinette Bigelow, and more. Also featured are the two winners of this year's WGST Creative Activism Award.
Friesen & Rickert receive Van Ek Award
Two WGST students were named Jacob Van Ek scholars this year, one of the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� highest honors: Margaret Rose Friesen, a senior with majors in both women and gender studies and music composition, and Kiar 脕颈苍别 Rickert, a graduating senior with degrees in women and gender studies, sociology, and the LGBTQ Studies Certificate.
Making research intelligible to people with power
Mar Galvez Seminario, a 2021 honors graduate with degrees in both sociology and women and gender studies whose advocacy helped pass Jude鈥檚 Law, discusses the role of activism in their research into systemic聽inequality in this article from CU's A&S Magazine.
Alomar Receives Fellowship from Institute for Citizens & Scholars
Dr. Maisam Alomar, assistant professor of women and gender studies, has been named a 2021 Career Enhancement Fellow by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, given to faculty in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who are committed to increasing diversity and inclusion on campus through both service and research.
G贸mez joins WGST Faculty
Dr. Leila G贸mez, director of the Latin American Studies Center (LASC), has joined the faculty of Women and Gender Studies as associate professor. Recently awarded the Outstanding Mentor Award by the CU Graduate School, G贸mez's research centers on Latin American and Indigenous literatures and cultures from the 19th to 21st centuries, with emphasis in the Andes, Mexico, Paraguay and Argentina.
Soares named 2021 UROP Outstanding Mentor
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) has named Dr. Kristie Soares, assistant professor of women and gender studies, as one of this year's recipients of the Outstanding Mentor Awards, which recognize聽CU 麻豆影院 faculty for their role mentoring undergraduate research and creative projects. These exemplary mentors were selected from numerous student nominations speaking to the transformative value of mentorship.
2021 WGST Faculty & Staff:
2021 WGST Faculty & Staff: L. Kaifa Roland, Maisam Alomar, Lorraine Bayard de Volo, Robert Buffington, Emmanuel David, Leila G贸mez (not pictured), Janet Jacobs, Samira Mehta, Deepti Misri, Celeste Montoya, Kristie Soares, Robert Wyrod, Alicia Turchette, and Valerie Bhat.
Roland appointed Director of Pan African Studies Program at Clemson University
After serving as the chair of women and gender studies for the past year, Dr. Kaifa Roland was recently named the new director of the Pan African Studies Program at Clemson University.
Potter joins WGST faculty
We are pleased to announce the addition of a new faculty member to the women and gender studies roster, and introduce Dr. Hillary Potter, who has joined us this summer as associate professor.
WGST Alum Update
Dr. Cassy Gonzalez (WGST '13) completed her dissertation with distinction in Ethnic Studies and is now an assistant professor in criminal justice at Sam Houston State University.
WGST Faculty Updates
Catch up with news from our women and gender studies faculty, including new publications, new plans, and new family members!
GJL recognizes Denim Days
The Gender Justice League helped call attention to the victim blaming often suffered by survivors of sexual assault with their recognition of 'Denim Days'.
Armstrong & Young: What's changed for LGBTQ people in the last 50 years?
Vivienne Armstrong and Dr. Louise Young, two trailblazing LGBTQ activists, met with students to discuss their lifetime of advocacy and their relationship which began at CU 麻豆影院 50 years ago.