(no subject)
Dear Clearly Not The Members of Women_Academics
We, as students, community members, tax payers, academics, and women, wish to
express our disagreement with and strident opposition to Florida Atlantic
University's recent proposal to suspend the Women's Studies Center and Masters
Degree. We believe that the Women's Studies Center is indispensable to FAU's
student body, faculty, and the university's overall academic reputation and
integrity. Women's Studies M.A. students compose a majority of the only women's
organization on campus (The Women's Studies Graduate Student Association
[WSGSA]). Together the WSGSA and Women's Studies Center are the primary
organizers and source of funding for all academic conferences, colloquium
series, and special events that focus on women and women's experience (including
for the past eleven years the Women's Studies Graduate Student conference, which
has brought scholars and academics focusing on women's issues from across the
country to FAU, and this year, the
International Women and Leadership conference, which is being financially
sponsored and organized by the Women's Studies Center and WSGSA).
Beyond these reasons, we believe that women are valuable as people and important
subjects of academic inquiry. Women's experiences and writing have historically
been excluded from academia. We firmly believe that the proposed suspension of
the Women's Studies Center and M.A. degree is a horrific step backward in
women's long fight for their deserved place in the academy.
Additionally, we question the validity of the FAU administration's rationale for
proposing this unjust suspension. When the total money allocated to "Education"
in FAU's last published budget (2006-2007) is $239, 949, 841.00 and the Women's
Studies Center and M.A. program (at an operating cost of $60,000) only account
for a total .00025% of that budget, we must question whether or not "budget
cuts" are an adequate explanation of the administrations decision. Both the
President's salary and Athletics departments' budget have increased over the
past year. From our perspective, the university has chosen its priorities; These
priorities represent an inexcusable attack on all women in and out of the
academy. At a university where the average salary of a male professor is $16,
000.00 higher than the average salary of a female professor, how else are we to
interpret the proposed suspension of the Women's Studies Center and M.A. program
than as an attack on
women?
Women have fought hard to earn their rightful place in society in general and
the academy in particular. To allow this suspension to occur would be a slap in
the face to every women's rights advocate in American history. We refuse to
allow the "budget decisions" of the mostly male administration at FAU to take
any of this space away from women. We refuse to let "budget cuts" stand as an
excuse for cutting all or a majority of academic conferences, colloquium series,
graduate courses, and special events that focus on women lives, writing, and
experiences.
We have signed this letter for two reasons: 1) as a hope that the university and
administration will rethink and subsequently recant the proposed suspension of
the Women's Studies Center and M.A. program 2) as a pledge to respond to this
outrage in an organized fashion with media support and protest if the university
and administration do not take this proposal off of the table by February 14th.
Please respond to this letter via e-mail only by February 14th.
We also created an online petition that you can forward anywhere and everywhere
you can think of. The online petition can be found here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveFAU/
PLEASE HELP US SAVE WOMEN'S STUDIES AT FAU!
Sincerely,
SaveFAU@gmail.com
Olga Turner, graduate student in Women's Studies at FAU
We, as students, community members, tax payers, academics, and women, wish to
express our disagreement with and strident opposition to Florida Atlantic
University's recent proposal to suspend the Women's Studies Center and Masters
Degree. We believe that the Women's Studies Center is indispensable to FAU's
student body, faculty, and the university's overall academic reputation and
integrity. Women's Studies M.A. students compose a majority of the only women's
organization on campus (The Women's Studies Graduate Student Association
[WSGSA]). Together the WSGSA and Women's Studies Center are the primary
organizers and source of funding for all academic conferences, colloquium
series, and special events that focus on women and women's experience (including
for the past eleven years the Women's Studies Graduate Student conference, which
has brought scholars and academics focusing on women's issues from across the
country to FAU, and this year, the
International Women and Leadership conference, which is being financially
sponsored and organized by the Women's Studies Center and WSGSA).
Beyond these reasons, we believe that women are valuable as people and important
subjects of academic inquiry. Women's experiences and writing have historically
been excluded from academia. We firmly believe that the proposed suspension of
the Women's Studies Center and M.A. degree is a horrific step backward in
women's long fight for their deserved place in the academy.
Additionally, we question the validity of the FAU administration's rationale for
proposing this unjust suspension. When the total money allocated to "Education"
in FAU's last published budget (2006-2007) is $239, 949, 841.00 and the Women's
Studies Center and M.A. program (at an operating cost of $60,000) only account
for a total .00025% of that budget, we must question whether or not "budget
cuts" are an adequate explanation of the administrations decision. Both the
President's salary and Athletics departments' budget have increased over the
past year. From our perspective, the university has chosen its priorities; These
priorities represent an inexcusable attack on all women in and out of the
academy. At a university where the average salary of a male professor is $16,
000.00 higher than the average salary of a female professor, how else are we to
interpret the proposed suspension of the Women's Studies Center and M.A. program
than as an attack on
women?
Women have fought hard to earn their rightful place in society in general and
the academy in particular. To allow this suspension to occur would be a slap in
the face to every women's rights advocate in American history. We refuse to
allow the "budget decisions" of the mostly male administration at FAU to take
any of this space away from women. We refuse to let "budget cuts" stand as an
excuse for cutting all or a majority of academic conferences, colloquium series,
graduate courses, and special events that focus on women lives, writing, and
experiences.
We have signed this letter for two reasons: 1) as a hope that the university and
administration will rethink and subsequently recant the proposed suspension of
the Women's Studies Center and M.A. program 2) as a pledge to respond to this
outrage in an organized fashion with media support and protest if the university
and administration do not take this proposal off of the table by February 14th.
Please respond to this letter via e-mail only by February 14th.
We also created an online petition that you can forward anywhere and everywhere
you can think of. The online petition can be found here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveFAU/
PLEASE HELP US SAVE WOMEN'S STUDIES AT FAU!
Sincerely,
SaveFAU@gmail.com
Olga Turner, graduate student in Women's Studies at FAU