NWSA Journal

The call for contributions to this special forum on "Women's Studies in 'Other' Locations" arrived in my inbox a scant two weeks after I had begun my new job as a beginning assistant professor of English and director of the women's studies program at a relatively small (more than 6,000 students) regional state university in the South. Though only two weeks into the job, I had a sneaking suspicion that I would have much to say on this topic. Now, with one completed semester under my belt, my suspicions have been confirmed. My remarks here will center on some of the issues that arise from directing a one-person program, and will attempt to unpack a statement I have jokingly made several times in the last several months: namely, that I am Women's Studies at my institution.

At the institution where I work, the women's studies program is relatively new, having existed for less than a decade. Structurally, the program is housed within a large department called Languages, Literature, and Communication (LLC for short), which is also my tenure home as an assistant professor of English. The program consists of an undergraduate minor; currently, students pursuing the minor must take Introduction to Women's Studies plus twelve additional hours of upper-division cross-listed courses, of which there are nine from which to choose. The Introduction to Women's Studies course was created only two years ago; it was taught for the first time in fall 2003, and was taught again (by me) in the Fall 2004 semester. On my campus, then, Women's Studies is a late arrival, and much work remains to be done in terms of raising awareness of the field in general, and the minor in particular.

Now that I have arrived on campus, some of my colleagues can breathe a sigh of relief. The faculty members who served on the committee that hired me, as well as other people who continue to support the program through serving on the program's advisory committee, feel good about the fact that the torch has been passed to a more permanent keeper, so to speak, and that it did not go out while they were tending it. From my perspective, however, hiring a new director is only the first step: the women's studies program is at a crossroads, I would argue. I am eager, and a little anxious, to see what sort of material, as opposed to moral, support I will receive as I settle into this position and attempt to solidify and expand the program.

One of the things that I appreciate about my department is that there is a clear sense that the person who directs the women's studies program should be a specialist in that area. To my mind, the fact that the chair of [End Page 178] LLC authorized and oversaw a national search for a permanent, tenure-track position in English and Women's Studies indicates a real commitment to the women's studies program. This commitment is undercut, however, by the fact that the director is technically granted only one course reassignment per year, thus lowering her teaching load from 4-4 to 4-3.¹ I was able to negotiate a one-time reduction to 3-3 for this year (my first year on the job), but I am not at all convinced that I will be able to secure this course reassignment permanently.² It is certainly not written into my contract, and I have heard from more senior colleagues that the chair fears "setting a precedent" by allowing the women's studies director to have a reduced course load. Other faculty members in my department administer minor programs, and do so with only one course reassignment per year; as such, the needs of and resources allocated to Women's Studies are always, for the department chair, weighed...