UIC Women's Leadership and Resource Center Annual Report 2020-2021 by uicwlrc

UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center

Annual Report 2020 – 21

From the Director

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of a campus women’s center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. As one of UIC’s Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change under the Office of Diversity, Equity and Engagement, we support students’ co-curricular learning, strengthen the campus’s understanding of issues related to women and gender in higher education, and promote social justice and inclusion at the institution and across the city and state.

First named the Office of Women’s Affairs (OWA), the center emerged in the context of more than two decades of organizing by students, faculty, and staff to create spaces on campus that recognized women’s contributions to academic life and addressed the needs of women in higher education. Outcomes of that organizing include the Gender and Women’s Studies Program, the Center for Research on Women and Gender, and the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Women. OWA was born in 1991 from studentdriven protests against racist and sexist violence on campus, and reflected the commitment of then-Chancellor James Stukel and the Board of Trustees to “improving the conditions for women at UIC [which] calls for the awareness and active elimination of all the different forms of oppression women face in any institutional setting” (OWA Mission Statement, 1991). The activism that brought the center into being led to the unit’s emphasis on collaboration, a commitment to anti-racist practice, and attention to the diverse forms of leadership that women demonstrate on campus. Renamed in 2009 as Women’s Leadership and Resource Center, the center has lived in several places: Behavioral Sciences Building, University Hall, the Roosevelt Building, and the Taylor Street Building. The center’s leadership–Renee Redd, Rebecca Gordon, Megan Carney, and now Natalie Bennett–along with the diverse community of students, staff, and faculty who have helped to translate the broad vision and goals into a vibrant center that has endured for 30 years, have drawn on different legacies of feminist activism within the academy. While WLRC has stayed true to its roots–a space of advocacy, community engagement, education, support, and rest–it continues to experiment with different ways of doing that work. For example, as the year’s programs illustrate, we are being attentive to the way broader social, cultural, and political changes in the society affect the lives of women and gender non-conforming persons on campus, centering minoritized women in the programs we offer, and making room for graduate students to see themselves in and make contributions to the center.

This year’s programming and advocacy work unfolded in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic. We were able to pivot to virtual programming to bring students together to counter the isolation and promote a sense of belonging. We had approximately 1,200 event participants and 2,000 event registrants for the year's programs. Consistent with the year’s theme, we were also able to use our time together to reflect on what the center has accomplished so far, and to reinvigorate conversations about how we can continue to be a “proactive force” that promotes gender equity and justice at UIC for the next 30 years.

Mission

The mission of the UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center is affirm the diverse needs of woman-identified and gender nonconforming persons in higher education; to increase awareness about the histories of and contemporary issues in feminist movements, activism, and scholarship, especially as they relate to white supremacy, ableism, heterosexism, transphobia, wealth inequality, et al; and build community and solidarity while promoting gender equity, antiviolence, inclusion, and social justice on campus and in the larger society and world.

To accomplish this mission, WLRC aims to

• offer engaged learning opportunities for individual students, classes, and groups

• provide a range of programs (e.g., lectures, film series, workshops, exhibitions, colloquia, storytelling, artmaking, etc.) and resources from feminist, anti-racist, and anti-oppression perspectives

• assist students and staff in identifying and acquiring resources, tools, opportunities, and skills that help them have a successful experience at UIC

• bring attention to the need for self-care, spiritual well-being, respect, and sense of belonging among students and staff

• foster collaborations and connections among UIC faculty/students/ staff and with feminist and social justice groups in Chicago to address the issues that impact the lives of minoritized women and gender non-conforming persons

• create spaces for building community and solidarity and fostering dialogue

• encourage awareness about gender-based violence and advocate for safety through the Campus Advocacy Network (CAN) program. CAN provides

° confidential crisis support and advocacy for survivors of any gender/sexual/racial identity or university status who have experienced gender-based violence, and

° educational programs, training, campaigns, activism, internships, and community-building.

Meet the Staff

Dr. Natalie Bennett Director

Dr. Ada Cheng Education and Outreach Specialist, CAN

Dr. Kelly

Assistant Director, Advocacy Services, CAN

Emoonah McClerklin Program Assistant

Tiffany Hamling Undergraduate Assistant

Ramona Gupta Associate Director

Alonzo Zamarrón Graphic Designer

Priscila Pereira Graduate Intern

Maginot

Jazmin Vega Graduate Assistant

Annanda Batista Graduate Intern

Seth Quam Graduate Assistant

Meghan Daniel Graduate Intern

Blanca Zavala Avalos Undergraduate Intern

CAMPUS ADVOCACY NETWORK

Confidential, Advocacy-based, and Needs-focused

The Campus Advocacy Network provides education, training, and advocacy for students, staff, and faculty who need assistance or information on issues related to gender-based violence (such as sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, harassment, and stalking) or feeling unsafe.

Advocacy

We empower survivors to make their own decisions about safety and healing. We offer confidential crisis intervention and safety planning to promote survivors’ physical safety and mental and emotional well-being. Depending on survivors’ needs, advocacy might include

• Informing survivors about their rights and options

• Helping survivors process trauma and offering strategies for self-care

• Connecting survivors with campus and community resources for mental health, legal aid, housing, and financial support

• Accompanying survivors to court and campus hearings

• Advocating for survivors with instructors and supervisors to foster their academic and career success.

Education and Outreach

At CAN, we believe that education is about consciousness-raising, challenging power inequities of various forms, and promoting social change through resistance and activism. We adopt creative formats for healing, education, and outreach both within and outside the center, which may include

• A space for healing and artivism

• Intimacy-centered conversational spaces for undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty

• Dialogue-centered workshops

• Knowledge-based workshops

• Classroom presentations

• Vulnerability-centered events

• Building alliances across campus as well as with community partners.

VIRTUAL PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Orientation / Weeks of Welcome Programs

At the beginning of each semester, WLRC and CAN offered a menu of orientation programs to welcome incoming undergraduate and graduate students and help them meet students, faculty, and staff interested in gender equity and justice.

• Welcome to the WLRC!

• Fall 2020 Open House

• Spring 2021 Open House

• Speed Dating for Safe Friendzone

• What’s Your Student Bill of Rights?

Speed Dating for Safe Friendzone

• The Beginning of a New Journey

What’s Your Student Bill of Rights?

Not Your Usual Watch Party

Recognizing that mainstream media often serves as an entry point for discussions of serious topics, CAN hosted virtual lunchtime conversations about 4 popular documentaries with stories focused on gender-based and interpersonal violence.

• Tiger King ︙ September 25

• Surviving R. Kelly ︙ October 30

• The Hunting Ground ︙ February 19

• Athlete A ︙ March 12

Shake It Up!

Begun in 2019, the Shake It Up! series brings together students, faculty, and staff to critically examine gender-based education and prevention on college campuses. This year, we focused on how institutions must move beyond compliance and do more to nurture trauma-informed, survivor-centered campus environments.

Co-sponsors included the Arab American Cultural Center, Asian American Resource and Cultural Center, Disability Cultural Center, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Gender and Sexuality Center, Gender and Women’s Studies, Graduate Employees Organization, and Undergraduate Student Government.

• Whose Lives Matter?: Gender-Based Violence in the Era of the Pandemic and the Uprisings ︙ October 7

• Our Words, Our Truths: Students Navigating Title IX Processes ︙ October 21

• Beyond Compliance: Survivor-Centered Advocacy in Praxis ︙ February 17

Programs for Graduate Students and Junior Faculty

As an academic unit under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, WLRC provided a number of programs to support graduate students and faculty in their scholarly pursuits.

• Write @ WLRC: Every Friday

WLRC hosted a weekly virtual co-working space for graduate students, faculty, and staff looking for accountability and motivation for their writing projects.

• Beyond Compliance: Survivor-Centered Advocacy under the Mandate of Title IX ︙ February 12

• Gender and Women’s Studies Grad Mixer ︙ October 15

WLRC partnered with Gender and Women’s Studies to provide graduate students an opportunity to meet casually, learn about the center and GWS, and share ideas for surviving and thriving amidst the pandemic and other overlapping world crises.

• Naming and Boundaries ︙ October 16

CAN hosted a lunchtime conversation on gender-based violence, including naming harassment, boundary violations, and the new Title IX policy, for UIC graduate students

This series offers faculty, graduate students, visiting scholars, and activists an opportunity to present their projects, ideas, and worksin-progress on a wide range of topics and engage participants in lively and provocative discussion.

For the Spring 2021 semester, WLRC partnered with the Gender and Women’s Studies program to feature UIC graduate students whose research, creative, or community projects engaged feminist movements and scholarship, and to pair them with UIC faculty whose scholarly interests intersect with theirs.

• Speaking/Writing/Being: Centering Black Women’s Intellectual Production ︙ February 26

WLRC launched a program to create a supportive space for Black women graduate students to share their ideas and projects, engage in interdisciplinary conversations, and build relationships with other Black women students and faculty across UIC. In this first iteration, Dr. Jaira Harrington, Assistant Professor of Black Studies, moderated a discussion among three PhD students about life as a Black woman graduate student in their respective fields during these unexpected times.

• Black Women Intellectuals: The Educational Philosophy of Lucy D. Slowe ︙ March 16

History PhD student Sekordri Ojo presented her work on the intellectual contributions of Black women to African American education, centering the educational philosophy of Lucy Diggs Slowe. After the presentation, Dr. Cynthia Blair, Director of UIC’s African American Cultural Center and Associate Professor of Black Studies and History, engaged Ojo in a robust conversation expanding on her work.

• in c/o: Black women ︙ April 6

Museum and Exhibition Studies graduate student Andrea Yarbrough presented her in c/o: Black women project, which brings together poets, curators, farmers, mamas, dancers, organizers, teachers, cultural producers, youth, and visual artists to collectively regenerate vacant lots as sites of care, exemplifying how communities can reclaim and reactivate their surroundings while navigating agency and ownership over vacant land. Dr. Kishonna L. Gray, Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and Communications, offered provocative questions and commentary for Yarbrough.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

For Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, CAN partnered with two cultural centers for conversations about violence prevention in Arab American and African American communities.

• Getting Comfortable Talking about the Uncomfortable ︙ October 13, with Arab American Cultural Center

With the Arab American Cultural Center, we hosted a conversation and crafting hour with Myasr Ihmoud, violence prevention specialist and UIC Law student, about addressing violence with loved ones.

• Black Table Talk: Black Women and Gender-based Violence: Strategies for Self-care ︙ October 28, with African American Cultural Center

We joined the African American Cultural Center for a conversation about sexual violence perpetrated against Black women and challenging the intertwined systems of racism and sexism in the U.S.

Women’s History Month: Latinx Womxn Leaders Across Social and Environmental Movements

To celebrate Women’s History Month, WLRC partnered with the Latino Cultural Center to host a series of 4 conversations with dynamic activists working for labor and worker’s rights, immigrant rights, environmental and climate justice, and building transgender & queer Latinx power.

• Rosi Carrasco ︙ March 10

• Tania Unzueta ︙ March 15

• Kimberly Wasserman ︙ March 17

• Jennicet Gutiérrez ︙ March 30

Black History Month: Let Our Rejoicing Rise

In commemoration of Black History Month and in recognition of how Black women’s voice and performance have been important to Black struggle and resistance, we provided 3 opportunities for the UIC community to celebrate the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written by James Weldon Johnson and set to music by J. Rosamond Johnson in 1899.

Co-sponsored by African American Cultural Center and Honors College.

• Singing the Nation: Memory, Meaning, and Resistance in “Lift Every Voice and Sing” lecture by Dr. Sonya Donaldson ︙ February 25

Dr. Sonya Donaldson, New Jersey City University, presented on the ways Black women’s voices have been used in public performances, including “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” to promote a sense of “we-ness” at different moments in U.S. history.

• Signing the Nation: ASL Performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” ︙ March 18, with Disability Cultural Center

Performer and educator Crystal Kelley Schwartz joined us for a performance and exploration of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and taught the audience a portion of the song in ASL. Dr. Johari Jabir, musician, scholar, and faculty in UIC Black Studies, provided an introduction.

• Video Project

UIC students were invited to submit videos of themselves performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” or speaking about its significance in their lives, to be featured as part of Dr. Sonya Donaldson’s “Singing the Nation into Being” digital humanities project.

30th Anniversary Programs

2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Leadership and Resource Center and Campus Advocacy Network. Throughout the year, we are hosting events that expand on the anniversary theme, “Centering Care and Community: 30 Years of Resistance at UIC.”

Our Spring 2021 events focused on the multiple vital roles women’s and gender equity centers play on U.S. college campuses, through the lenses of the dedicated leaders of centers throughout Illinois and graduate students who have worked with WLRC to advocate for gender equity and support survivors of gender-based violence.

• Sustaining Centers of Care, Community, and Resistance ︙ March 3

• Centering Students in WLRC’s History of Care, Community, and Resistance ︙ April 9

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Though WLRC and CAN’s work focuses on the prevention of sexual violence and other forms of interpersonal violence throughout the year, Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the work of our center and the larger UIC community to support survivors, understand bystander intervention, and create a culture of care and action.

• Picture a Scientist Screening & Discussion ︙ April 14 & February 15

In partnership with Women in Engineering Programs, CAN hosted a screening and discussion of Picture a Scientist, a powerful documentary that sheds light on the institutional gender discrimination experienced by women in STEM. A number of departments and organizations joined us for this critical dialogue and a similar one held on February 15, including the Graduate Student Council, LAS GANAS, Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students, and Society of Women Engineers.

• Coffee Connect ︙ April 10

WLRC partnered with artOut, Red Shoes Review, and AsianInk to host a weekend community space for students to learn about feminist and survivorcentered art, create blackout poetry, workshop original poems, paint coffee watercolors, and connect with other students.

Building Bridges of Solidarity: Centering Black and Latinx Women Student Leaders, April 7

WLRC hosted a conversation with and for Black and Latinx women student leaders about their academic, leadership, and personal experiences at UIC; what they wish they had known when they first got here; and advice for thriving in school and their chosen fields. Partnering organizations included the Black Graduate Student Association; Black Student Union; Latino Planning Organization for Development, Education, and Regeneration; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority; and SISTERS.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS & COLLABORATIONS

Heritage Garden, July 20-22, 2021

WLRC hosted the UIC Heritage Garden interns for 3 days of learning about environmental justice through a feminist lens, with co-facilitator Andrea Yarbrough, creator of the in c/o: Black women project and a recent graduate of UIC’s Museum and Exhibition Studies master’s program. Our theme for the week was “care”: the many facets of it, the ways we provide it, and the ways we need it.

Global Youth Ambassadors Leadership Summit

, July 8-17, 2021

A joint program of Chicago Sister Cities International and WLRC, the 6th annual summit provided a globally immersive experience for leadership development, cross-cultural awareness, and civic exchange for girls ages 14-16. This year we invited 50 girls from Chicago and 24 of its sister cities to engage in rich conversations about leadership skills, women in sports and STEM, environmental justice, mental health, and gender-based violence.

Medical Colloquia

WLRC and CAN organized a series of collaborative programs on the intersections of race, gender, and medicine as part of the College of Medicine’s Medical Colloquium series.

• What’s Now and What’s Next in Anti-racist Activism in U.S. Medical Schools︙September 25

• Gender-based Violence and Medicine︙October 16 & March 19

• Dorothy Roberts’s Fatal Invention︙March 12

CCUSC Virtual Meet & Greets

WLRC partnered with its 6 sibling Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change to host relaxed conversations about current social justice topics and introduce newer UIC community members to our centers.

• Latino Cultural Center & Arab American Cultural Center

Peeling Away Anti-Blackness, Heated Elections ︙ October 13 & November 5

• Asian American Resource and Cultural Center & Disability Cultural Center Penny for Your Thoughts (personal storytelling) ︙ January 28

• Latino Cultural Center & Women's Leadership and Resource Center

True Solidarity vs. Performative Allyship ︙ March 31

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

As the COVID-19 pandemic raged on and we continued to work and study remotely, we found innovative ways to connect with our communities. Using social media helped us reach new audiences and engage them in learning about feminisms and social justice.

Sounds of Feminism

We launched a campaign on Instagram to introduce critical conversations about history, politics, media, and culture through 16 audio pieces featuring feminist scholars and activists.

One-on-One with CAN & GSC

We co-hosted with the Gender and Sexuality Center a series of 8 live Facebook interviews with campus partners to connect on a personal and human level and foster comfort and vulnerability.

• Margaret Fink, Disability Cultural Center︙September 3

• Mario Lucero, Latino Cultural Center︙September 17

• Rich Havard, Inclusive Collective︙October 1

• Veronica Arreola, L@S GANAS︙October 15

• JT Turner, Gender and Sexuality Center︙October 29

• Jennifer M. Jackson, Library︙ February 11

• Karen Su, Global Asian Studies︙March 11

• Kishonna Gray, Gender and Women's Studies / Communications︙April 8

This Is Me! This Is Us!

As part of our commitment to supporting first-year students and integrating them into campus life, we posted a series of 42 short videos on our CAN Facebook page for students, staff, and faculty to share personal stories about college and life lessons and overcoming adversity.

PROGRAMS WE CO-SPONSORED

• Know Your Rights: Title IX ︙ November 11, hosted by Undergraduate Student Government

• Revolutionary Mothering: Laboring for a Just World ︙March 8, hosted by the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy

• Unlearning Fatphobia: Moving Toward Fat Liberation in Public Health︙March 10, hosted by Radical Public Health

THE YEAR IN NUMBERS

1,183

TUITION AWARD

The UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center offers financial awards toward tuition for undergraduate study at UIC. The goal of this award is to support women students in their educational pursuits who have a great deal of financial need that is not being met by financial aid or loans.

Paola Castro

“Thank you for selecting me as one of the students to receive this award. What this tuition award means to me is an opportunity to have a peace of mind from this semester’s financial toll. It also represents faith that sometimes even adversities that set me apart as a woman can be used to overcome other obstacles in life. I am greatly appreciative to UIC and the Women’s Leadership & Resource Center.”

Farreh Qatanani

“As a daughter of parents who immigrated to this country, I have always struggled with my identity within a marginalized community, in addition to being a woman. The Women’s Leadership Resource Center (WLRC) Tuition Award is an honor, as it allows me to continue to pursue my goal of becoming a physician and conduct research without the additional stress of funding my educational goals. Currently I am working as an Emergency Medical Technician, conducting research on cells infected with herpes simplex virus (HSV), and tutoring students enrolled in introductory and general chemistry at UIC. My long-term goals include studying the social determinants of health and how they specifically affect marginalized groups, as well as providing care for underserved populations as a physician. I am very grateful for this generous WLRC award and aspire to continue to embody its legacy!”

Tatiana Carbajal

Junior, Electrical Engineering and Entrepreneurship Jennifer Corona Sophomore, Psychology and Latin American and Latino Studies

Danielle Cortes

Senior, Gender and Women’s Studies

Erica Olavarria

Junior, Biomedical Engineering Montserrat Pereyra

Junior, Psychology and Biology

PARTNERSHIPS

Thank you to all our campus and community partners for their commitment to promoting gender equity and ending gender-based violence:

Units

• African American Cultural Center

• Arab American Cultural Center

• Asian American Resource and Cultural Center

• Disability Cultural Center

• Gender and Sexuality Center

• Latino Cultural Center

• Fraternity and Sorority Life

• Gender and Women’s Studies

• Women in Engineering Programs

• College of Medicine

• Honors College

• College of Nursing

• Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy

• LAS GANAS

• Summer College

• New Student and Family Programs

• Center for Research on Women and Gender

• Women’s Athletics

Student Organizations

• Undergraduate Student Government

• Graduate Student Council

• Society of Women Engineers

• Graduate Employees Organization

• Radical Public Health

• Black Graduate Student Association

• Black Student Union

• LPODER

• SISTERS

• artOut

• Red Shoes Review

• AsianInk

• Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students

• Aahana

• Her Campus Community Partners

• Chicago Sister Cities International

• Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation

Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change

The Women’s Leadership and Resource Center is one of seven Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC), under the Office of Diversity. The Centers are committed to student retention through intercultural engagement, vibrant scholarship, mentorship, and dynamic community partnerships focused on social justice.

Through engaged-learning opportunities and ongoing acts of activism and advocacy, the Centers validate the lived experiences of historically marginalized students, thus welcoming them to be their full selves and improving their overall student success at UIC.