Walters
 “I have inherited an amazing set of resources. Those before me did a great job of laying the ground work, without which we would not be poised to move forward in the ways that we are.”
—Suzanna Walters chair, Department of Gender Studies, IUB
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When Suzanna Walters says IUB is going to put its Department of Gender Studies on the map, you believe her.
Since she started as chairperson on July 1, Walters has thrown herself into turning the new department’s potentiality into reality. On Oct. 4, the department hosted an open forum for IUB faculty.
“One of my highest priorities is expanding gender studies to anyone who is a committed gender scholar,” said Walters. “The department already has a broad representation of disciplines—history, English, anthropology, sociology, psychology, psychobiology, philosophy, people from HPER….We’ve got it all. I believe there should be no department unrepresented. There are literally hundreds of scholars on this campus who do work in gender. I want them to know that we’re interested in what they’re doing.”
When IUB’s Gender Studies Program became a full-fledged department in December 2000, one of the priorities was finding a chairperson that could provide innovative leadership. Walters, formerly a professor of sociology and chair of the women’s studies program at Georgetown University, had visited IU and was immediately impressed by what she saw.
“I have inherited an amazing set of resources. Those before
me did a great job of laying the groundwork, without which we
would not be poised to move forward in the ways that we are. This
fall, we are advertising two full-time tenure track positions,
and by fall 2006, we hope to be admitting students into the first
Ph.D. program in gender studies in the country, pending the approval
of university officials,” said Walters.
Walters is confident that the doctoral degree in gender studies will attract the very best students. “We will be unique on many levels. While there are about 10 programs in the U.S. that offer the Ph.D. in women’s studies, none offer it in gender studies. Plus, our program will be interdisciplinary in a rigorous, thoughtful way—not just adding aspects of other disciplines. We also have a unique focus on sexuality and gender studies because of our fortuitous affiliation with the Kinsey Institute. People are going to be attracted—just as I was—by the department and the richness of IU.”
A transplanted Easterner, Walters is happy to be in the heartland, spearheading a program she feels has unlimited potential. “I’m a big city person. I grew up in Philly and D.C., went to graduate school in New York and taught at Georgetown for 11 years—so this is a huge transition. But this is a rare opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up,” she said. “I fell in love with the campus. The faculty is fantastic—they have a level of energy and commitment that is astounding. We have a dean who has been tremendously supportive and wants to put gender studies at IU on the map—and we’ll do it!”
http://www.indiana.edu/~gender/
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