IRWG Celebrates 30 Years in 2004

he year 2004 marks the 30th anniversary of Stanford University's Institute for Research on Women and Gender and major new directions for the Institute. In a recently completed and exciting transition, the Institute moved from Stanford’s Office of Graduate Studies and Research to the School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S), the academic locus of the University. In its new position, the Institute is being transformed into a multi-disciplinary center where resident scholars, drawn from the Stanford faculty and from other universities, are working together in unprecedented ways. The primary focus of their work will be developing strategies for increasing the comparatively small number of girls and women in the important areas of science, engineering, and technology. This under-representation has gained national attention, and is an unresolved problem in schools, academe, and the workplace. The Institute’s work will also play a crucial role the University’s renewed determination to make Stanford a place where women faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students across all academic disciplines can flourish. Recruitment and retention of women, specifically in the sciences and engineering, is a special concern and commitment for the University. The Institute’s expertise in understanding women’s place in academic culture can provide leadership in that area.

To celebrate its milestone anniversary, the Institute will feature an exciting series of events throughout the year that will include seminars, Jing Lyman lectures, town hall meetings, conferences, and a major anniversary event. The festivities began on January 20th with an Open House at the Institute, followed by a lecture by Stanford anthropologist Barbara Voss on women in colonial California and her archaeological work in the Presidio of San Francisco. On February 11th, the Jing Lyman Lecture series on Women in the Sciences and Engineering will continue with a lecture by Stanford biologist Deborah Gordon on the topic of "Ants at Work: The Organization of Social Insect Colonies." In the Spring, political communication scholar Kathleen Jamieson, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, will be a featured speaker. In September, the Institute will hold a public meeting to highlight the work from the Difficult Dialogues session on the "Changing Structure of Families." A major anniversary event is also being planned for the Fall, featuring former Duke president Nan Keohane as the keynote speaker.