University and College Women's and Gender Equity Centers

University and College Women's and Gender Equity Centers examines the new institutional contexts surrounding women's centers. It looks at the possibilities for, as well as the challenges to, advocating for gender equity in higher education, and the ways in which women's and gender equity centers contribute to and lead that work. The book first describes the landscape of women's centers in higher education and explores the structures within which the centers are situated. In doing so, the book shows the ways in which many women's centers have expanded their work to include working with athletics, Greek life, men, transgender students, international students, student parents, veterans, etc. Contributions then delve into the profession of women's center work itself, and ask how women's center work has become "professionalized?" Threats and challenges to women's and gender equity centers are also explored, as contributions look at how their expansion has helped or complicated the role of centers? The collection concludes by highlighting current successes and forward-thinking approaches in women's centers and asking how gender equity centers can best prepare for the future? Through narratives, case studies, and by offering strategies and best practice, University and College Women's and Gender Equity Centers will engage emerging and existing equity centre professionals and women's and gender studies faculty and students and help them to move the work of gender equity forward in the next decade.

Brenda Bethman is the Director of the Women's Center and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA. She also holds appointments as Affiliated Faculty in German and Coordinator of the General Education Program. Anitra Cottledge is the Director of the Women's Center at the University of Minnesota (UMN), USA. Previously, she served as the Director of Communications in the UMN Office for Equity and Diversity and as the Assistant Director of the UMN Women's Center for several years. Donna M. Bickford  is the Director of the Women's and Gender Resource Center at Dickinson College in Carlisle, USA. Previously she served as Director of the Carolina Women's Center and then Associate Director of the Office for Undergraduate Research at UNC-Chapel Hill, USA.

Introduction, Chapter One: Positioning Campus Women's and Gender Equity Centers for Success: Structural Issues and Trends Chapter Two: Beyond Parties and PNMs: An Integrated Model for Women's and Gender Centers and Sororities Chapter Three: Exploring the Relationships between Campus Women's Centers and LGBTQ+ Centers and Initiatives Chapter Four: Solidarity Is For All: Women's Centers Serving Women of Color Chapter Five: Late to the Game: The Politics of Opening a Women's Center in 2015 Chapter Six: Where Do We Enter? How Do We Stay? The Role of Consciousness Raising in Developing Women's Center Professionals Chapter Seven: Experiences of Women's Center Directors in Student Affairs Chapter Eight: On Trauma, Ambivalence, and Trying Too Hard Chapter Nine: Putting Our Oxygen Masks On First: Women's and Gender Center Staff and Self-Care Chapter Ten: Seeking Relevance In an Age of Inequity: A Case Study of the Identity Struggle of One Women's Center Chapter Eleven: Blue Language in a Red State: Inclusive Sexuality Education in a Conservative Climate Chapter Twelve: Ohio Women's Centers' Reflections on Evaluation & Assessment: Revisited Chapter Thirteen: Paying Homage to College and University Women's Centers: Gender Justice Work in the Center for Diversity and Inclusion Chapter Fourteen: Beyond the Label: Leveraging the Iconography of Feminist From Moments to Movements Chapter Fifteen: The Personal and the Professional: ?Intersectional Experiences in Gender Justice Work Chapter Sixteen: Addressing and Dismantling Cisgenderism In Womxn's Centers: Reframing Womxn's Centers Work Toward an Intersectional Critical Trans Politic Chapter Seventeen: Vision to Action: Inside Out Strategic Planning Chapter Eighteen: Setting a Transformative Agenda For the Next Era: Research On Women's and Gender Centers