We have had a productive year implementing exciting initiatives funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to our department to highlight women’s studies strengths in experiential learning and career readiness. You can read more about our work, in an article written by Lauren Barnett for CLAS News.
A thread across all these activities is to showcase and celebrate our students’, graduates’, and friends’ experiences of the positive impact of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies in their life, work, and communities. If you haven’t had a chance to do so already, please take a moment to complete our alum and friends survey and join us in telling the many inspiring stories of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies!
In Spring 2024, core faculty Drs. Jillian Hernandez and Alyssa Zucker, and affiliate faculty Dr. Aimée Bourassa developed the course Professional Pathways in Women’s Studies for undergraduate and graduate students in the department. As part of the course, they offered three Mellon-funded events open to all UF community members: a panel of recent alums, a public talk by Sesali Bowen, and a panel of professionals employed in careers related to Women’s Studies, at sites where our students can intern. Additional events that are a part of the Department’s Mellon grant are described on pages 9 and 10.
Working with colleges, universities, and other organizations that nurture advanced humanistic inquiry and social justice, the Mellon Foundation makes grants through its Higher Learning program that broaden our understanding of American history and culture; develop the interpretive tools and methods scholars use to create meaning; support faculty and students whose work exemplifies a drive toward greater equity in their fields and institutions; and promote pathways for those seeking to exercise transformative academic leadership.