UTSA Forms Committee to Evaluate Women's Issues
(Aug. 29, 2001)--UTSA President Ricardo Romo has directed Guy Bailey, provost and vice president for academic affairs, to appoint a twelve-member committee to assess the need for academic programs that address issues of women and gender. "The recent realignment is an opportunity not only for UTSA to meet budgetary goals but also to reassess how centers should function on campus," Romo said.
Due to budgetary constraints and the need to focus instructional dollars on teaching, UTSA recently restructured four centers on the campus. As a part of the changes, it reclassified the Center for the Study of Women and Gender as a program within the history department in the College of Liberal and Fine Arts.
"For a center to remain such, policy stipulates that the center be primarily supported by external funds, not dollars allocated by the State of Texas for instruction," said Bailey. "With this restructuring, UTSA can continue to support the important initiatives previously conducted by the Center as we look at alternatives to develop an expanded women’s studies program."
As a result of recent publicity focusing on the realignment of the Center for the Study of Women and Gender, a number of questions have been forwarded to the Office of Public Affairs and the UTSA Today e-mail account. Roxanne Llewellyn, associate director of public affairs, met with Bailey for answers to some of these questions:
Llewellyn: Some have asked why UTSA reclassified the Center for the Study of Women and Gender. Can you address this question?
Bailey: The Center is being reclassified as a program for one reason: there is a pressing need to focus instructional dollars on teaching. As a result, the Center’s funds will be reallocated to the College of Liberal and Fine Arts for the teaching of students. The college also will develop and house the new Program for the Study of Women and Gender. This mandate affected three other centers at UTSA: the Metropolitan Research and Policy Institute, the Hispanic Research Center and the Institute for Studies in Business.
Llewellyn: Will the university continue to sponsor Women’s History Week at UTSA?
Bailey: Yes. UTSA is committed to this important annual event. Working with the history department, the Program for the Study of Women and Gender will oversee this project.
Llewellyn: It was noted by one respondent that this decision brings to a close the university’s Archives for Research on Women and Gender. Is this true?
Bailey: No. The archives are not affected by the transition of the Center into a Program. Located at the Institute of Texan Cultures, UTSA’s library manages the archives.
Llewellyn: One question came from an individual who attended last Friday’s forum concerning the Center. The message was this: "I understand that services provided by the Center such as counseling of battered women and sexual assault victims will no longer be provided. Is this so?"
Bailey: The Center was not designed to provide this kind of service. The Office of Student Affairs at UTSA is responsible for counseling students. The Student Counseling Center provides individual counseling, support groups, campus outreach programs and crisis intervention services to students. Several of these programs focus specifically on women’s issues. The Counseling Center recently hired an additional clinical staff member to augment these services.
Llewellyn: Will UTSA have a Center for the Study of Women and Gender?
Bailey: President Romo charged the committee to develop a plan within the next five months which could lead to the reestablishment of a Center. Part of their charge is to gauge prospective interest at the university and financial support in the local and regional community. Another part of the committee’s charge will be to evaluate the scope and function of such a Center. The Committee will also ask questions such as: Should it be focused on research? Should it be focused on the advocacy of women’s issues? Should it be a resource for female students at UTSA?