Loyola University of Chicago. Women's Studies Program.

Oldest Women's Studies program at a Jesuit University or College. The beginnings of the Women's Studies Program at Loyola University Chicago date back to the 1977-1978 academic year, when a Mellon Foundation grant was awarded to four faculty members (Suzanne Gossett, Randa Dubnick, Judith Wittner, Susan Kerstein). The grant enabled the women to explore the possibilities of creating a women's studies program. In June 1978, the Women's Studies Planning Committee submitted a proposal for the establishment of a women's studies program at Loyola. The proposal was approved during the 1978-1979 academic year, and the program officially began in the fall of 1979, making it the first of its kind in a Jesuit institution. Suzanne Gossett, a professor in the English department, assumed the position of director of the program from its inception until 1987. While the program consisted of a minor from its beginnings until the late 1990s, the women's studies program now includes a comprehensive undergraduate and graduate program. The core of the program is its courses, which explore the intersections of women, gender, and sexuality through the lenses of diverse academic disciplines, but it also offers additional avenues of involvement through various special events, seminars, and workshops. Included in the records are selected records of the Loyola Women's Center. While not directly associated with the Center, several attempts were made by women's studies faculty to develop a research center for women and gender. The creation of the Ann Idea Gannon, BVM, Center for Women and Leadership, which was conceived as a result of the affiliation of Mundelein College and Loyola University Chicago, has served in this capacity since 1993. The women's studies program currently occupies offices within the Gannon Center.