The plan of organization covers the main areas of responsibility and concern which comprise its tripartite mission of teaching and curriculum development, service and outreach, and research and scholarship. Each section includes goals, a short history and background, and strategies for meeting our goals. Details of the potential implementation schedule and strategies for each objective are available by request.

To accomplish these goals, the Center needs a strong administrative structure, an effective fund-raising and grant development program, and access to current technologies. These areas will be addressed at the conclusion of this document because they provide the basis for our achievement in all three areas of responsibility.

2.0 Teaching and Curriculum

2.1 Goal

Through its pedagogy and interdisciplinary curriculum, the Center for Women's Studies seeks to promote understanding of women's experiences and achievements, using gender as a primary category of analysis. Women's Studies courses employ a variety of perspectives associated with the social sciences, humanities, and physical sciences. This interdisciplinary focus helps students appreciate the diversity of gender studies and the intersection of gender with other social identities. Finally, the curriculum promises an understanding of international and transnational perspectives on women and gender.

2.2. Short History and Background on Center Teaching

The Women's Studies Program began in 1980 as a unit of the College of Arts and Sciences, building on almost a decade of teaching about women in a variety of departments across the campus. In 1984, Women's Studies moved out of the college and became the Center for Women's Studies. The Center moved back into the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences in 1993. The teaching mission of the Center has grown as Women's Studies has grown, both nationally and internationally. This mission also has changed significantly since its inception with an increase in the number of visiting assistant professor positions, teaching assistantships, and courses that strengthen our teaching expertise, and expansion of associated faculty throughout the university. The Center now offers a 19-hour minor to undergraduates throughout the university. Graduate students, Regents Bachelor of Arts, or post-baccalaureate students may earn a certificate in women's studies by completing the same requirements as those who earn a minor. Additionally, graduate students may earn a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in women's studies. Over 100 Faculty Associates represent eight of the university's colleges and bring considerable expertise in the areas of teaching, service, and research in gender studies.

2.3 Strategies:

Faculty

• Stabilize the women's studies core faculty to meet our teaching goals with a full-time permanent director and two full-time tenure-track faculty.

• Expand involvement and provide support for retention of faculty associates. Continue to build and support the community of faculty associates, while recognizing their commitments to their home units. Improve mentoring, leading to greater faculty effectiveness in teaching.

• Establish criteria for adjuncts and make adjunct appointments.

Students

• Increase the number of undergraduate students who earn a minor or certificate in women's studies on the Morgantown campus.

• Provide career mentoring for undergraduates

Curriculum

• Strengthen undergraduate curriculum to develop a major in women's studies

• Continue the development of a gender-balanced curriculum throughout the university through the introductory course and women's studies courses that fulfill the gender/minority/foreign cultures requirement.

• Expand course offerings and offer regularly scheduled courses to facilitate students' progress in the program.

• Encourage the development of women's studies courses at our regional campuses.

• Strengthen graduate course offerings in women's studies through the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree and related disciplines.

Expand Women's Studies learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to include research skills, familiarity with electronic resources, and field experience opportunities.

3.0 Service and Outreach

3.1 Goal

The Center for Women's Studies fulfills its service mission by demonstrating ways in which the feminist scholarship of women's studies informs our ways of working against the discrimination, prejudice, inequity, and bias that still exist in our society. The center will continue to lend its expertise to activities that address issues such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, counseling for women, date rape, dual career couples, and the glass ceiling in the work force. Our service activities aim to create a non-sexist and non-racist climate that insures faculty, staff, and students a working environment conducive to personal and professional growth. The Center works with numerous programs and councils on campus to help meet the needs of women and works to expand access to higher education for high school girls. Additionally, the Center has established a web page that provides linkages to resources and utilizes networks in West Virginia. Without a women's center on campus, the Center is also called on to provide ad hoc support services to women students, faculty, and staff.

3.2 Short History and Background on Center Service

Women's Studies faculty and staff have been involved in important service to the college, university, community, state, and nation since 1980. These activities have included service to students and teachers in the state's public schools, the Centenary of Women's Education at WVU, membership on the WVU Council for Women's Concerns and, later, Social Justice Council, as well as membership on the West Virginia Department of Education Sex Equity Council and participation in programs of the West Virginia Women's Commission. Women's studies students can participate in service learning projects as part of the requirements of WMST 40: Introduction to Women's Studies. Members of the West Virginia Alliance for Women's Studies have supported this service mission since the Alliance's organization in 1986, and we anticipate that the members of our new visiting committee will continue this tradition of private support.

3.3 Strategies

• Support the development of an on-campus women's center that provides social services referral to students, faculty, and staff.

• Work closely with various campus programs and councils to ensure a positive climate for women in scholarly and other professional endeavors. This may involve partnering with organizations around campus to avoid taxing our limited resources and personnel and monitoring on-going policies related to promotion and tenure, research dollars that women receive, ensuring that there are women speakers at major events, etc., and work toward gender equity in these areas.

• Provide intellectual leadership on social justice issues and use this knowledge in a wide variety of service-related activities at the college, university, state, and national levels.

• Provide effective public outreach to those interested in women's studies scholarship outside WVU and Morgantown through public speaking, publications, the World Wide Web, and through external and internal grant funding which supports some of Center's public service work.

• Link scholarship with activism among faculty and students through the service learning component of the Introduction to Women's Studies course.

• Offer information and public service to K-12 schools, other colleges, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and the general public to address relevancy of women's studies to these schools, agencies, and organizations.

• Encourage faculty to expand their service roles in women's studies.

• Support public service related to gender equity in the state.

4.0 Research and Scholarship

4.1. Goal

At WVU, the Center for Women's Studies will be the locus for the production of new knowledge related to women, and we will do so by supporting, promoting, and helping to publicize women's studies research done at WVU. We will capitalize on the strengths of our faculty, faculty associates, staff, and students, while also facilitating research with colleagues in the community and elsewhere, thereby building stronger networks of support for women's studies. We will sponsor scholarly activities, which facilitate the distribution of women's studies research. Such activities make research on issues of gender and equity visible, contributing to the recognition of women's studies as a discipline while also educating faculty, students, and the greater university community to social justice issues.

Women Studies is, simultaneously, a discipline, an interdisciplinary approach to scholarship, and a "transdiscipline," i.e., an approach to knowledge that transcends the traditional disciplinary boundaries of the academy. Therefore, it shares many characteristics with American studies, international studies, and Africana studies programs. Faculty and students may come to women's studies from a more traditional discipline, such as sociology, literature, history, or psychology; or, especially if they were students in the last two decades, from a graduate program focused on women's studies. The importance and uniqueness of women's studies research lies in its emphasis on women's experiences and achievements, as well as on gender as a category of analysis. Women's studies research is often collaborative and experimental.

4.2: Short History and Background on Center Research

WVU faculty conduct research and participate in scholarly activities in the humanities (especially, English, history, foreign languages, philosophy), social sciences (geography, psychology, sociology, anthropology, education), and health sciences (nursing, community health, clinical research). Students have opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate levels to do women's studies research. Moreover, women's studies graduates continue their interest in women's studies research in their careers.

In addition, Women's Studies undergraduate and graduate students produce research both for the classes they have attended and for senior projects.

4.3 Strategies:

• Incorporate women's studies faculty associates' research accomplishments to further the mission of the Center.

• Make research as integral a part of the Center's mission as teaching and service now are, in part by having tenured and tenure-track faculty who have women's studies research expectations as part of their job requirements.

• Make research and scholarly work part of women's studies faculty position descriptions.

• Strengthen graduate work in women's studies so that it is tied to a strong research program.

• Expand our WVU-wide focus to enhance visibility of women's studies-related research throughout the university by working with the Center for Black Culture and Research, Appalachian Studies program, International Studies program, gerontology program, religious studies program, Native American studies program, West Virginia chapter of American Women in Science, etc.

• Make available the Center's research materials on the history of women at WVU by donating these to the West Virginia and Regional History Collection and by making some available on-line (see Technology section, below)

• Address issues of particular interest to the state and region.

5.0 Center Administration

5.1 Goal:

The Center for Women's Studies will have a permanent full-time director and three permanent full-time classified staff to assist in the administration of the Center, advising students, keeping our web presence current, preparing our publications, providing service on behalf of the Center, supporting philanthropic and grant development, etc. The Center will also have a visiting committee to provide support with publicity, recruitment, development, programming, etc. The teaching faculty will consist of two tenure-track faculty members, plus the director, and graduate teaching assistants who will assist in teaching Women's Studies 40.

The Center's permanent committee structure will consist of the following committees: curriculum, Mossburg grant selection, programming, research, residency, scholarships and awards, Stitzel Endowment selection. The research committee will be a new committee in 2000-2001 to help the Center promote its research agenda.

5.2 Short History and Background of Administration

Judith Gold Stitzel was the founding coordinator of the women's studies program (1980-84) and then the founding director of the Center for Women's Studies (1984-1992). In 1984, women's studies moved out of the college and under the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Provost, where it remained until 1993. While under the Vice-President, the Center developed a unique university-wide mission that we have retained since moving back to the College of Arts and Sciences in 1993. Since 1992, the center has had four different interim directors (including co-interim directors in 1992-93) for a total of four years. Helen Bannan served as permanent director from 1994 to 1998 but had a split assignment with the history department. The Center has had only one permanent full-time director, Dr. Stitzel. The director serves as an ex-officio member of the Council for Women's Concerns, the CWC executive committee, and the WVU Social Justice Council. The center's classified staff have provided important stability and program growth for the Center.

5.3. Strategies:

• Develop and maintain a stable staff for the Center.
  Implementation

1999-2000: work on rationale and job description to succeed Lillian Waugh on her retirement

2000-2001: hire new staff member to succeed Lillian

• Ensure that our human and physical resources are commensurate with the needs of the Center.
  Implementation

1999-2000: submit requests for additional equipment from college year-end funds; develop a mechanism for linking classified staff throughout the university more clearly to the Center in a format similar to that of the faculty associates.

2000-2001: submit requests for ECAS computer upgrades for instructional purposes

• Involve students in Center activities.
  Implementation

1999-2000: activate our chapter of Tri Iota, women's studies honorary and consider using it as a women's studies club for students, also, modeled on the Phi Alpha Theta/History Club pattern in the history department; students serve as members of the residency and curriculum committees

2000-2001: add students to the programming committee.

• Publicize our programs and student, staff, faculty accomplishments as widely as possible.

• Start planning for 20^th anniversary in 2000-2001.

• Continue assessment mechanisms to measure our progress.

6.0 Development and Fund-raising

6.1 Short history and background on Center development and fund-raising

Historically, the Center's baseline, state-funded, current expense budget has fluctuated between $6300 and $7300 annually and is expected to remain at around $7100 for the foreseeable future. These funds support core functions like copying, postage, and phone expenses. Because of the new Oracle accounting system, effective in the fall of 1999, the Center no longer has a separate travel fund ($750 before July 1, 1999) but has an additional $750 in its current expenses account. The Center usually raises $8000 of current expense budget in co-sponsorships and annual campaigns to supplement program development.

CWS fund-raising dates from mid 1980s with joint Center-Alliance annual campaigns dating from Fall 1986. The first fund, the Carrie Koeturius Scholarship for Returning Women Students, was endowed in 1987.

The Center's WVU Foundation portfolio (discretionary account, endowment principle, and designated endowment yield for awards, etc.) stands at about $250,000, of which only a small percentage is discretionary program money controlled by the Center Director.

In 1998-99, scholarships and awards, including awards to faculty and graduate students, totaled $13,000. That amount should rise to almost $18,000 during 1999-2000.

As of December 1999, the WVU Foundation holds six endowments for the Center:

• Carrie Koeturius Scholarship for Returning Women Students - gives scholarships to nontraditional women students. Endowed in 1987.
• Alma and Claude Rowe Excellence Through Equity Award - recognizes and stimulates teaching, scholarship, and community service which increase access to education in Appalachia. Endowed in 1991.
• Sallie Lowther Norris Showalter Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Related Disciplines - recognizes an undergraduate woman who demonstrates high mathematical/scientific achievement and commitment to social justice. Endowed in 1993.
• Judy Mossburg Faculty, Staff and Student Development Grants - supports faculty, staff, and student research and professional development activities. Endowed in 1993.
• Velma Miller Women's Studies Graduate Student Award - recipients emulate Velma Miller's pragmatism, vision, and love of learning. Endowed in 1997.
• Judith Gold Stitzel Endowment for Excellence in Women's Studies Teaching and Learning - ensures that women's studies knowledge will be available to future generations of students and promotes integration of this knowledge into the fabric of instruction at WVU through supporting faculty in women's studies teaching. Endowed in 1998.

Other funds include:

• WVU Foundation Women's Studies Program Fund (a discretionary fund for the Center); A discretionary fund for the WV Alliance for Women's Studies.

• Women's Studies residency fund

• The Alliance external account from which it subsidizes both the Carrie Koeturius Scholarship and other awards and, to a lesser degree, the Center's program funds.

• Winifred South Knutti Graduate Research Award provided through the WVU Alumni Association.

• Winifred South Student Enrichment Fund in ECAS for undergraduate and graduate enrichment projects.

• A WVU Library Endowment fund that is not yet endowed.

The number of WVU women's studies graduates and students who take women's studies courses grows yearly and expands the donor base and donor prospects pool. CWS donors are mostly modest givers, yet tend to move up the giving pyramid from small annual gifts (increasing over time), to major gifts and planned giving associated with wills and tax management.

Women's Studies is just beginning to enjoy the fruits of planned giving. This program can be expected to participate in the growth of private philanthropy related to the explosion of personal retirement planning, i.e., IRAs, Keogh Plans, etc.

6.2. Goal

It is critical that the Center for WS expand upon its past success in private fund-raising to accomplish its goals, especially as SB 547 limits WVU state resources. This must be done through a 20th anniversary campaign in the spring of 2000 and through the WVU capital campaign, to start in the fall of 2001, as well as through our routine annual campaign.

6.3 Strategies

• Maintain our broad donor base, of which over 95% are people who never received women's studies degrees and are affiliated with the Center because of

a) Loyalty to the Center and affiliated personnel, and

b) Commitment to the Center's mission and what it represents in terms of societal and institutional transformation.

• Increase the operational funds of the Center to support additional staff.

• Use some of our funds to support research and release from teaching.

• Identify funds or internship opportunities to support a research assistant and/ or a development assistant who will work with the staff member primarily responsible for fund-raising.

• Set high goals for fund-raising, building on recent experience and constantly exploring new possibilities.

• Continue strong Center connection with donors.

• Build on the Center's strong relationship with the WVU Foundation, the West Virginia Alliance for Women's Studies, and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences to encourage more participation from Foundation and ECAS on our behalf.

• Develop new strategies to extend donor base. The Center, erroneously, is perceived as possessing discretionary funds commensurate with its visibility (i.e. high!). We always depend on private funds to offset static state-based funding, which decrease relative to inflation.

• Identify persons or ideas for other endowments i.e. research.
  

7.0. Technology

7.1. Statement of Purpose:

Teaching, research, and service will increasingly rely on the use of a variety of technologies, including e-mail, SatNet teaching, the Internet, etc., as a means to better accomplish our goals in teaching, research, and service.

7.2 Short history and background of use of technology

The Center faculty require the use of electronic resources in classes and work with Carroll Wilkinson, who offers workshops on these resources for our classes. In 1999, Carroll offered a workshop on electronic resources for women's studies faculty and faculty associates. The Center relies heavily on our own knowledge of technology to maintain our database, prepare our publications, etc. The Center developed an extensive web site with a strong outreach component during the 1997-98 academic year; this is being revised during 1999-2000.

7.3 Strategies

• Provide opportunities for staff to take WVU Academic Computing workshops on databases, etc.

• Sponsor regular workshops for faculty associates on new electronic resources at library.

• Require students to use electronic resources for courses.

• Find grant funding to make research materials available in an on-line format.

APPENDICES