WOMEN'S STUDIES
BULLETIN

March/April 2003

Table of Contents:
ASSOCIATE OF THE MONTH
PCSW NETWORKING LUNCHEON
OUTSTANDING WOMEN STUDENT AWARDS CEREOMONY
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: AN OVERVIEW
MOTHER’S MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND
WOMEN’S STUDIES SUMMER CLASS SCHEDULE
SENIORS TAKE NOTE: GRADUATION CORDS NOW AVAILABLE
APRIL IS LGBT AWARENESS MONTH

ASSOCIATE OF THE MONTH

Dr. Jenny Hoobler is both a new assistant professor of Management and a new associate of the Women’s Studies Program. Hoobler received her Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior. In 2001, Hoobler received the Best Paper Award by the Southern Management Association, Social Issues Track. Her research and publications focus on dysfunctional behavior in organizations (e.g., abusive supervision and workplace violence), and gender and diversity (e.g., work-family conflict).

Hoobler became interested in studying gender in the workplace from her previous experiences working for corporations. She began to ask questions, such as why are the bosses always male and the subordinates always female. During her Ph.D. work, she earned a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies at Kentucky. There, she found herself surrounded by a community of women that gave her a more progressive perspective on research. She also found social support and mentors that she believed were crucial to her success in her doctorate program. As a result, she felt indebted to Women’s Studies and wanted to have the opportunity to give back. Thus, when she arrived on campus, she wanted to begin her service by joining our Women’s Studies program as an associate.

Now, as an assistant professor, Hoobler is interested in studying women’s self-esteem in the workplace, if and when the match between a supervisor’s and subordinate’s sex matters, the distribution of power in the workplace, and the presence of women in sex-typed positions. Thus far, Hoobler has had a good experience at NIU and has felt very welcome, especially by the Women’s Studies Program. As a new member of the Women’s Studies community, she hopes to find a network of women similar to what she found at Kentucky. She sounds very excited about her future involvement in the program and hopes that one day she may be able to teach a master’s level class on women and work, focusing on such issues as work-family intersections.

To learn more about Dr. Hoobler, please visit her website, http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/hoobler_j.html.
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PCSW NETWORKING LUNCHEON

Barbara Cole Peters, a private collector of 20^th century women’s clothing, will be speaking at the next PCSW networking luncheon on Wednesday, April 9, at 11:30 a.m. in the Holmes Student Center Ball Room. Reservations for lunch are required by April 4. Call 753-9614: $7 for faculty/staff; $6 for students. (top)

OUTSTANDING WOMEN STUDENT AWARDS CEREOMONY

This year, outstanding women students will be honored on April 13, 2003 (Honors Day). This PCSW-sponsored ceremony honors graduating women students who were nominated by faculty and staff because of their achievements and excellence in departmental and university leadership roles, community involvement, other awards and scholarships, goals and aspirations, and obstacles overcome in pursuit of their education. Preference is given to candidates with a 3.0 GPA or better. (top)

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: AN OVERVIEW

This year’s Women’s History Month celebrated women in volunteerism. Our lovely poster designed by Cathy Stresinshe helped draw quite a bit of attention. A special thank you to Cassie Reuter, our work study student, and to the many others who hung our poster campus wide.

Events kicked off with three showings of the Vagina Monologues. Over all, approximately 400 attended the three showings, and Women’s Alliance raised $1650 for Safe Passage. According to Angelica Gonzalez, Women’s Alliance Co-President, "all the comments I heard from the people that saw the show were very positive, some [women] even came to see the show twice and brought more people to see it."

The International Women’s Day Luncheon was also a great success. In fact, the Chandelier Room staff had to add another table of place settings to accommodate the full house. Dr. Josephine Mendez-Negrete discussed her book that explores the profound impact of incest on her life, as a woman, a Latina, and as an academic.

After spring break, events started again with a panel on volunteerism. Jeanne Meyer, a representative from Safe Passage, and Mary Beth Markwell, a representative from the Girl Scouts, spoke on what volunteerism means to women and how volunteering can help career development. After the panel discussion, this year’s poster designer (Cathy Stresinshe, junior visual communications major) and the essay contest winners were honored in an awards ceremony. Congratulations again to the following writers!

Graduate Students—1^st Place: Angela Titus-Polensky, English; 2nd Place: Reynaldo R. Ty, Political Science. Undergraduate Students—1^st Place: Halima Khan, Political Science; 2nd Place: Courtney Kintz, Sociology.

On March 18-19, Dr. Floris Barnett Cash spoke on the history of African-American women and their participation in social action clubs. Cash gave a wonderful overview of the contributions of many Chicagoan women and an in-depth look at the struggles and controversies of Ida B. Wells Barnett. On March 27, Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes read from her newly published novel, Douglass’ Women. Rhodes’ award-winning book re-imagines the lives of two very important women in abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ life that history has typically ignored. Our final colloquium speaker, Dr. Gillian Rose, cancelled her trip from the United Kingdom due to the war. (top)

MOTHER’S MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Thus far, we are half way to our endowment goal of $10,000 for the Mother’s Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is designed to help women students as well as to celebrate women who are or act as mothers. It offers an exciting new option for creating a lasting memorial or recognition of the important women in our lives. We have set ourselves the goal of securing an initial endowment by June 15, 2003. Please consider giving for Mother’s Day. Donor forms are now on-line at the Women’s Studies website, http://www.clas.niu.edu/wstudies. Simply click on Mother’s Memorial Scholarship Fund in the left toolbar, and then click on the donor form link. (top)

WOMEN’S STUDIES SUMMER CLASS SCHEDULE

Minor Courses:

Core Courses

WOMS 235/ENGL 382 Women Across Cultures & Centuries (3) 2:00-4:45 TTH Swanson

Regular Electives

COMS 410 Communication & The Sexes (3) 2:00-4:45 M,T,W,TH Bisplinghoff

The following courses may count toward the minor with the approval of the Director:

ILAS 390.P2 Internship (3) TBA Levin

WOMS 439.P1 Independent Study in Women's Studies (3) TBA Levin

Certificate Courses:

Core Courses

WOMS 510.P1/ENGL 529 Topics in Women's Studies/Gender & Teaching in Writing (3) 11:00-1:45 TTH Callahan

The following courses may count toward the Certificate with the approval of the Director:

ILAS 502.P1 Internship in Women's Studies (VAR) TBA Levin

WOMS 539.P1 Independent Study (1-3) TBA Levin

**Please note that the Summer 2003 and Fall 2003 class schedules are now available on our website, http://www.clas.niu.edu/wstudies. Simply click on "Course Listings by Semester" on the left menu bar. (top)

SENIORS TAKE NOTE: GRADUATION CORDS NOW AVAILABLE

Attention, Women’s Studies minors, show off your achievement by wearing special purple cords with your graduation gowns! These cords are available from Women’s Studies in Reavis 103. Stop by and get one for your big day! (top)

APRIL IS LGBT AWARENESS MONTH

This year’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Awareness Month will celebrate 19 events. Highlights include a theatre performance, "First Breath and On the Down Low," on April 14 at 7 PM in Diversions Lounge. About Face Youth Theatre explores true stories and experiences of Chicago area LGBT. Dan Woog, an award winning teacher and coach, will give three lectures on Monday, April 28, beginning at noon in the Blackhawk cafeteria. Woog explores the impact of LGBT issues in American schools.

Both events are sponsored by Prism, Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation, Unity in Diversity Steering Committee, and the Campus Activities Board. All programs are open to the public and are free of charge unless otherwise designated. For a complete list of events, visit the Awareness Month calendar online at www.niu.edu/lgbt/april.htm.

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