A Committee on Women's Studies was created in 1972 to address the needs of the College of Arts and Science in the area of Women's Studies at Vanderbilt University.

As per the Committee's recommendations, two 100 level courses were created. WS-150 was offered at least once a year beginning in fall 1973, nine times by seven unique instructors and four times by two different teams of instructors. WS-151 was offered annually beginning in 1979 under four different instructors or teams. Ten different instructors taught nine different WS-295 courses. Most of the WS-295 courses were cross-listed in departments as 294s or ìspecial topicsî courses.

The committee recognized that sustaining the popularity of the WS coursesódespite the obvious problems of staffing them every semesterówould require regularizing them. Thus, the committee requested a full time position in Women's Studies and an appropriate discipline at the tenured level. The person selected, according to the committee, would assume responsibility for coordinating the Women's Studies program, would chair the Women's Studies Committee, and would teach one or two courses in Women's Studies per year. The Committee further expected the program coordinator to assume leadership in developing new courses, evaluating present offerings, consulting with departments about course cross-listings, and writing grants to support special projects and lecturers.

Yet while Women's Studies courses have been officially offered since the spring of 1973, it wasnít until 1988 that the program appointed its first director, Nancy Walker (English). Professor Walker ably helmed the program through its early stages, including getting the minor in Women's Studies approved in May 1990. In 1997, under the leadership of Professor Ronnie Steinberg (Sociology), the program flourished. With her enthusiastic guidance, the program began to offer a major and a Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies. Student enrollment in Women's Studies courses increased to over 700, of which 60 were majors and minors.

Professor Steinberg retired as director of the Women's Studies Program in 2003. Carolyn Dever (English) was the acting director of the program from spring 2004 to spring 2005, while a national search for a new director was launched. Professor Dever expertly guided the program through its transition from the leadership of Ronnie Steinberg to the installation of the new director in 2004, Monica J. Casper (Sociology). Since her inaugural year, Professor Casper and a dedicated team of students, faculty, and staff have taken the WGS Program to new heights. They have:

• Changed the programís name to Women's and Gender Studies;
• Increased/enhanced program diversity through faculty hiring (e.g., Shubhra Sharma and Charlotte Pierce-Baker) and public lecture series;
• Increased the number of Affiliated Faculty to more than 90, including several faculty from outside the College of Arts and Science;
• Increased collaborative efforts and networking across campus with units such as the Center for Ethics, Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society, Program in African American and Diaspora Studies, Jewish Studies, Center for the Americas, Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, Black Cultural Center, and many others;
• Created a Community Advisory Board comprised of professionals representing diverse fields, drawn from the wider Nashville community;
• Broadened the WGS Steering Committee to include undergraduate and graduate students; and
• Created thematic concentrations in WGS including:
  • a. Feminisms: Global and Local
  • b. Gender, Activism, and Social Change
  • c. Gender, Bodies, and Health
  • d. Gender, Law, and Policy
  • e. Gender, Media, and the Arts
  • f. Intersections: Gender/Race/Ethnicity/Class/Sexuality

One of the most dynamic aspects of the WGS Program has been the shifting position of the associate director (AD). A key responsibility of the associate director is to be the sounding board for the director, but in reality the AD takes care of programming logistics, edits The F Word, develops new courses, and teaches WGS classes. Typically, a senior lecturer (non-tenure track) is appointed as associate director in the program. Alison Piepmeier was the first associate director of the program, a title she began to use in 2004. Dr. Piepmeier became the heart and soul of WGS and gave the program immense visibility on campus and in the Nashville community. In 2004, when Dr. Piepmeier left Vanderbilt to become Director of Women's Studies at the College of Charleston, Dr. Rory Dicker, senior lecturer in WGS and English, took over as the programís interim associate director. The position of the associate director was further institutionalized in 2006, when a national search to hire for the position was launched. Dr. Shubhra Sharma (UT-Austin, 2005) started as the new associate director and senior lecturer in fall 2006.

The program has come a long way since 1972. However, some challenges still remain: how to increase majors and minors, how to make our programming and curriculum more interdisciplinary and reflective of changing political and social realities, how to make WGS courses and degrees integral to the professional portfolio of students in the College of Arts and Science, and how to increase awareness of Women's and gender issues across campus and in the larger Nashville community. To this effect, we have developed materials including an attractive new brochure and a thoroughly updated website. We believe that such materials are a step in the right direction, and that they reflect the bright future of the Women's and Gender Studies Program at Vanderbilt University.