Announcements & Upcoming Events

Welcome back from winter break!  We hope you are adjusting back well! Women’s and Gender Studies has many exciting events planned throughout this spring semester!! Please join us on February 4 to hear Dr. Ruth Chananie-Hill speak of "Effects of Social Movement and Institutuonal Networks on University Policies, Initiatives and Culture." With Women's History Month approaching, we would like everyone to know that we have a GREAT speaker coming to campus, Jessica Valenti on March 11th. She is our keynote speaker for Women's History Month. Be sure to stop by! Read through this page to find out more! Have a great day!

UPCOMING WGS ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

Spring CROW Forums

February 4^th

Dr. Ruth Chananie-Hill, Assistant Professor of Sociology

Title: “Effects of Social Movement and Institutional Networks on University Diversity Policies, Initiatives and Culture”

March 4^th

 Francesca Soans, Associate Professor of Communication Studies

Title: “Documentary Memory, Place and Identity: Sons of Jacob Synagogue”

April 1^st

Outstanding Graduate Research Paper Award

The CROW Forums are held on the first Monday of each month at noon in the Center for Multicultural Education, Room 109A.

 Faculty, staff, students and members of the wider community are invited!

WGS Campus Advisory Board

The WGS Campus Advisory Board members assist in the administration of the academic and programming facets of the program.  We determine curriculum, always seeking to maintain high quality and diversity in course offerings.  The Board also supports programming for faculty research on women's and gender studies.  Board meetings are open to the public and provide a great opportunity to meet faculty from all over campus! 

Monday, February 11, 2013

Monday, April 8, 2013   

All meetings are held at 12:00 noon in Sabin 203.

Women's History Month

Jessica Valenti

Jessica Valenti is coming to UNI on Monday March 11. Valenti is the author of the new book, Why Have Kids? Valenti will be the keynote speaker for Women’s History Month, and her book is serving as the inspiration for this year’s theme: Modern Parenthood. She is a well-respected figure in women’s and gender studies with a national reputation.  She holds a master’s degree in women’s and gender studies from Rutgers University; she has written four popular books on women’s and gender issues; and she is the founder and managing editor of the blog Feministing, a popular online community for feminists and their allies, which the Columbia Journalism Review calls “head and shoulders above almost any writing on women’s issues in mainstream media.”

Education Event

Thursday, Feburary 7th

Wallace Auditorium

12 Noon     Sign in, t-shirts, registration

12:30pm     Dating Violence Bill Briefing

                     Crash Course in Policy Advocacy

2 pm     Meeting with Legislators

3 pm     Optional Video Filming: A message to our siblings.

              We would love your help making 30 second videos!

To register and talk about car pooling, contact Kristen McNutt via email, mcnuttk@uni.edu

This event is put on by Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence and is located in Des Moines, Iowa.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

8th Annual Iowa Governors Conference on LGBTQ Youth

The conference will take place on Wednesday, April 3^rd, 2013 at Prairie Meadows’ The Meadows Conference Center in Altoona near Des Moines. The Conference is the largest event of its kind nationally and will bring together over 700 Iowa educators, administrators, high school students, social workers, counselor, policy makers, parents, faith leaders, and anyone else who cares about the safety and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

His Royal Highness Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of Rajpipla India & JD Ordonez (Real World Brooklyn/The Challenge) will be the keynote speakers for the Conference. Other featured celebrity speakers include Ruthie Alcaide (Real World Hawaii), Isis King (American's Next Top Model), and Ryan Sallans (Transgender Author/National Speaker).  

Registration is now open!!  Register early and save today with Adult Registration only $40 and Student $10.  We have extended the Early Bird Registration price until February 15^th. After that it goes up so register soon!  Registration includes breakfast, lunch, snacks, and access to all Conference materials and workshops.  Some scholarships are available for those unable to pay. Hotel accommodations are available.  Please email nate@iowasafeschools.org for a link to local hotels to save.

SHE MATTERS Mapping Project Workshop

Thursday, February 7, 8:00-9:30an, Philanthropy Center

Don’t miss the unveiling of this NEW TOOL for the state of Iowa. 
The Cedar Valley Nonprofit Association will receive this workshop before any other location in the state!**

RSVP via the web by February 5, 2013. 

What will happen at the workshop? 

Jim Addy from Mapping Strategies will demonstrate how to use the mapping site.  Stacy Van Gorp of the McElroy Trust and Stephanie Clohesy of Clohesy Consulting will discuss ways to integrate this new data into your organizational strategy and practice.

What is SHE MATTERS? 

SHE MATTERS is the printed report (also available online) from the Iowa Women’s Leadership Project on the 2012 Status of Women and Girls in Iowa.  It details hundreds of fascinating statistics about women in Iowa.

What is the Mapping project? 

The Mapping Project takes the SHE MATTERS data, puts it into and online, and creates an accessible map where you can compare data, and undertake research.

Why should I attend?

• Quick and easy access to statewide and local data, ALL from Iowa. 
• You will leave with new data at your fingertips for grant writing, evaluation, and comparison!
• Find out how to update and integrate information on a regular basis.
• Complete contact information for the service providers for women in Iowa.

Who should come?

• Leaders who are ready to use data to shape organizational strategy.
• Program managers who are responsible for evaluation.
• Proposal writers seeking up to date information.

Who is involved?

The Iowa Women’s Foundation and Iowa Women’s Leadership Project (IWLP) are the sponsors and organizers of the project.

CAMPUS EVENTS

Scholarship Matters: The 2013 UNI Symposium on Research and Creative Activity

Fri, 02/08/2013 - 8:30am - 4:00pm

The theme of the 2013 symposium will be “Expanding Ideas of Scholarship in the 21^st Century”. This biennial day-long conference is designed to showcase current research, scholarship and creative activity by UNI faculty and staff; and to stimulate engaging dialogue on current topics related to scholarship in higher education. Faculty and administrators from Western Carolina University will participate. WCU is a public comprehensive institution like UNI and has been developing and publishing new ideas about various forms of scholarship for a number of years. In addition to sharing their own experiences and ideas, the team from WCU will facilitate discussion about how scholarship is being defined and assessed at UNI and across the U.S. in these changing times in higher education. WCU offers training, workshops and institutional retreats on these topics across the country through their Coulter Faculty Commons for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. In addition to panels and break-out sessions around the theme, an open poster and performance session will be held for faculty and staff from across campus to display and discuss their scholarship. This event is free and open to faculty and staff at UNI. Registration is required. Location: Maucker Union. Contact Anita Gordon for further detail email: anita.gordon@uni.edu, phone (319) 273 6148

Graduate Student Research Symposium Preparation Workshop

Tue, 02/12/2013 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm

The Sixth Annual Graduate Student Symposium is Thursday, April 4. Learn about the types of presentations at the Symposium, benefits of participation, helpful hints for your presentation or performance, judging criteria, prize information and how to begin to prepare for the event. Location: Center for Multicultural Education. Contact Susie Schwieger for further information

Email: susan.schwieger@uni.edu, phone: (319) 273-2748

Mentors in Violence Prevention Leadership Institute’s MVP “Train the Trainer” Training

September 21-22, 2012

 Sponsored by the Center for Violence Prevention at the University of Northern Iowa

What is Mentors in Violence Prevention?

MVP, founded in 1993, is a leadership program that motivates both men and women to play a central role in solving problems that have historically been considered “women’s issues:” rape, battery, and sexual assault and harassment.  Utilizing the unique bystander approach to prevention, the MVP program views all individuals not as potential perpetrators or victims, but as empowered bystanders who can recognize and confront harassment and abuse.  The MVP Program inspires leadership by empowering individuals with concrete options to effect change on these issues.

In Iowa, MVP training is available through the UNI Center for Violence Prevention and is delivered by certified teams under the guidance of Alan Heisterkamp, Ed.D., Director of the MVP Leadership Institute at the University of Northern Iowa.

What is the Train the Trainer Institute?

The MVP Institute will be a 2 day, interactive training designed for students, educators and service providers along with community partners who desire to integrate the MVP model into their respective organizations.  The Institute consists of two phases.  In Phase I, individuals go through the training as participants and in Phase II, participants practice facilitating the MVP curriculum and create MVP implementation plans. The MVP curriculum is broken into four educational units:  battery, gender roles, alcohol and consent, and sexual harassment.  Upon completion of the Institute, participants are certified to utilize MVP with their direct service population.  

Why the MVP Train the Trainer Institute?

The goal of the MVP Institute is to develop a core group of trainers on Iowa’s college campuses, secondary school systems, departments of education, and within domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions across the state. These trainers can infuse the MVP program in their respective areas of work through subsequent trainings.  Through such an initiative, communities across Iowa can become safer as students and citizens are trained as empowered bystanders!

MVP Training Detail

Who:  Educators, administrators, faculty, students, health and emotional care providers, law enforcement, juvenile court service and adolescent specialists, military, domestic violence and sexual assault advocates, parents, civic and community partners.

When:  Friday & Saturday, February 15-16, 2013 (Friday:  3:00 – 9:00 p.m & Saturday:  8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m)

Where:  WRC, Rooms 150 & 155 (next to the UNI-Dome), University of Northern Iowa

MVP Trainers:  Alan Heisterkamp, Joan Thompson, Mark Rowe-Barth

Materials:  MVP Playbooks and materials will be provided. Bring a notebook and pen.

Parking:  Parking is available for off campus participants.

Cost:  Free! Lunch and snacks will be provided for both days.

Student Organization Meetings & Events

If your organization would like its meeting and events advertised in the WSG announcements, please email Kristen McNutt.

Feminist Action League

Weekly meetings are held Thursdays at 7pm. Date and place is listed below.

3/28/2013 in the MAU ELM ROOM    
4/4/2013 in the MAU ELM ROOM    
4/11/2013 in the MAU ELM ROOM    
4/25/2013in the MAU ELM ROOM    
5/2/2013 in the MAU ELM ROOM    

 Scholarship Opportunity

Be sure to check SOON for these to be updated. We are waiting on a few details.