NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma's Department of Women's and Gender Studies has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation. This funding will bolster the department's support for undergraduate students and expand partnerships with other universities, nonprofits and community organizations.
“One of our goals is to support researchers, teachers and professors in women's and gender studies across the state,” said Carrie Schroeder, an OU professor with expertise in gender studies, early Christian cultural history and digital humanities. “We plan to offer opportunities to share best practices, expand an existing conference and host professional development and online hybrid events that could be useful to our community.”
According to Schroeder, OU intends to collaborate with other institutions, including Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City University, the University of Tulsa and Rose State College. The department will also team up with local organizations such as the Red Dirt Collective and Freedom Oklahoma.
“A lot of our networks really broke down during the pandemic, so I'm hopeful that this grant can help reconnect researchers and students across our state,” she said. “I also hope that students will see why our program is important and connect what they're doing in the classroom to their life outside of the university. Ideally, the student-centered workshops and events we develop will help bridge those experiences.”
The University of Oklahoma qualified for the Mellon Foundation's Affirming Multivocal Humanities initiative by awarding at least ten bachelor’s degrees in women’s and gender studies in 2021.
"This is a recognition of the work that was done to build the program even before I joined the department,” she said. “Receiving this grant is really encouraging because the Mellon Foundation sees value in our work and is encouraging us to do even more. That means a lot.”
Learn more about the Department of Women and Gender Studies in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences and see the full list of grant recipients from the Mellon Foundation.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. OU was named the state’s highest-ranking university in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent Best Colleges list. For more information about the university, visit ou.edu.
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