Women's Studies: Where Is the Money?   

by Taras Tkatchenko

Once in while, every complex system, such as a university, gets to live through difficult times, when its endurance is tested.  Adelphi's troubled years came with the reign of its infamous former president Peter Diamandopoulos. Financial troubles, loss of reputation among other colleges and severe punishment of rebellious faculty members under his regime are all well known. Yet there were some losses which still escape public attention. One of these is the denigration of the Women's Studies program.

Formerly a rather large, 21-credit minor, with its own director, office and meeting place in the basement of Linen Hall, Women's Studies was an entity at Adelphi for close to two decades, with courses dealing with women's role in history, literature. It also examined such issues as gender discrimination.

Under Diamandopoulos, the minor suffered a series of heavy blows.The office and the director's position got taken away and their budget was cut down to $200 per year. The professors still willing to run the program stopped receiving monetary reimbursement, and some of the faculty member involved, such as Professors  Scollar, Alter and Semel, were refused tenure.

Professor of Sociology Sally Ridgeway, who has been the head of Women's Studies says the greatest loss may have been that of esteem. The program has been labeled a low priority. 

"He [Diamandopoulos] did not want us to exist," Professor Ridgeway said. The former president's deliberate lack of support, she said, came from his conviction that Women's Studies is insignificant as a scholarly field. "He thought the program was not academically respectable - 'just about women'."

As seasons change, so do Adelphi presidents. After the removal of Diamandopoulos, the university's condition has been slowly improving, and one would expect Women's Studies to be paid more attention to as well. Not so. None of the past benefits have been returned to the minor, which is still run from Prof. Ridgeway's office in the Sociology Department and the budget is not even enough to cover the cost of flyers. Yet what is of more concern to the faculty members involved with the Women's Study courses (Professors Ridgeway, Clee,Steil, Derner, Sternglanz and several others) is that the  minor has almost vanished from view; the Adelphi community does not know  about it. Indeed, if you ask an Adelphi student about Women's Studies, chances are, you'll be met with a puzzled stare.

In fact, some university officials, not directly related to the minor, are unaware of its existence. For instance, Vince Passaro, the  university's Public Relations Director, when asked about the minor, did not know that it was operational. To do justice to some of the members of the  administration, however, it should be noted that certain offices (such as that of the Provost) have been very supportive of the struggling program.

There seems to be two reasons that explain the minor's les than ideal condition. First, Adelphi has not quite recovered financially from the Diamandopoulos period and the main efforts of the administration are now  directed at other areas, deemed more important. Second, these "other areas" tend to be more popular, career-oriented majors such as Pre-med or Business. The latter's popularity has a lot to do with most Adelphi students' entering the university seeking future job opportunities, rather then fresh ideas, Ms.Ridgeway said.

Understanding these realities, Women's Studies' faculty does not ask that the minor to be showered with gifts. But Professor Ridgeway said that  a bit more money would help. More importantly, it has to become more visible. The program needs to be moved from the bottom of the priority heap to the middle. 

Gender is something very important to know about and understand, she added, emphasizing the urgent necessity of courses that could open students eyes to some of modern society's most debated topics,such as the gay and lesbian issues or domestic violence. Certain courses of that type are taught in Adelphi, but irregularly, as the professors carrying Women's Studies on their backs come from other departments, where they have courses they must teach in their respective fields of specialty.  Hence, there is a need - a call - for an imaginative, committed person to accept the position of the program's director, if only part-time, so as to make the minor more visible. It is an invitation, and the door is open. 

There are, according to Professor Ridegway, good general reasons for taking either some classes from the selection Women's Studies provide, or choosing it as a minor. Along with helping one to become a liberally educated person aware of the main problems of the day, there are also purely practical  advantages. Both women and men aiming at getting a job after graduation need to know and understand their employer's affirmative action policy; if they wish to have a family someday, it would help to know the reasons behind domestic violence; and if they plan on pursuing a career in psychology, sociology, even management, they would be much better equipped for it knowing about the gender-related stereotypes.

"Nurses and teachers should know about gender roles," Professor Ridgeway added, "taking the two jobs as an example of popular occupations."  As much as Women's Studies' enthusiasts would like to make their minor more popular, there is an even greater goal: to enlarge the subject matter, going from more specifically women-related problems to broader gender issues, and then perhaps to the issues of race and economic inequality. 

But there must be a firm foundation first, and, if a dubious millennium ending can be used, the year 2000 is a good time to lay it by going public with Women's Program.Whether we want it or not, it is time to "behave more 21st-century- like," as Professor Ridgeway said.