Strategic Plan 2010-2020

    02/07/11

    Mission 

    The mission of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies is to provide students with an appreciation of gender's importance for women and men, to develop students' understanding of women’s roles in a wide range of disciplines, to foster interdisciplinary research related to women’s and gender studies, to contribute to a better understanding of diversity, and to provide a pool of expertise concerning women and gender upon which various communities can draw. 

    Vision 

    Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies will continue to build on its outstanding record of research, teaching, and service:

    • interdisciplinary, innovative, and engaged research, publication, and creative work focusing on the role of gender and sexuality in twenty-first-century culture and society. 
    • innovative pedagogies that provide students with critical thinking skills applicable to disciplines ranging from the humanities to the sciences. 
    • the production of an engaged citizenry with an understanding of gender, sexuality, and women's roles in a wide range of disciplines, periods, cultures, and texts. 
    • productive engagement and collaboration with diverse cultures and communities at the local, national, and global level. 

    Values 

    • the importance of understanding and incorporating diverse perspectives as both scholars and students of gender and sexuality, and as engaged citizens. 
    • interdisciplinary and collaborative action in our scholarship, classrooms and community. 
    • creation of a diverse community that is inclusive, responsive, committed, egalitarian and flexible. 

    Goals 

    1. Discovery: continue supporting and producing innovative scholarship and creative work that advances our understanding of gender in the twenty-first century and contributes to creating a more engaged and educated citizenry on issues of gender and sexuality. 

    • Support innovative, interdisciplinary, and collaborative Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies scholarship and creative works. 

    Performance indicators

      • Publications (single-authored books, articles in refereed journals, filmmaking and video production, scholarly editions of primary literary and cultural texts, edited book series, journals, and essay collections.) 
      • Grants, fellowships, and awards 
      • Evidence of national and international significance of work. Indicators might include citations (scholarly and otherwise), use (inclusion on course syllabi, reading groups), membership on editorial boards, invited lectures and readings, and conference presentations 
      • Number of faculty conducting interdisciplinary and collaborative research and creative projects 

    Strategies

      • Maintain and seek to increase University, College, and Departmental support for interdisciplinary research and collaboration leading to publication both in print and in the visual arts and digital media. 
      • Encourage faculty to form collaborative groups that foster interdisciplinary projects. 
      • Forge more connections with other interdisciplinary programs and departments. 
      • Work with the College and University to hire more faculty work in in the field of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies. 
      • Establish and create incentives for faculty to provide mentorship and feedback on work in progress and grant applications 
      • Track interdisciplinary publications more effectively as well as the impact of interdisciplinary research in the university, local, national, and international community. 
      • Update program website to better advertise faculty accomplishments. 
      • Encourage use of the faculty listserv to make faculty members aware of publication opportunities across disciplines 
      • Provide time and resources to support journal editors and encourage new journals, including innovative electronic journals. 

    2. Learning: continue providing and expanding a curriculum that advances students' understanding of gender and women's roles in a wide range of disciplines, periods, cultures, and texts in order to prepare them to meet the life and career demands of an increasingly complex, globalized world.

    • Improve opportunities for critical thinking through interdisciplinary study among undergraduates 

    Performance indicators

      • Evidence of critical thinking skills in written and multi-media work in WGS courses and electives 
      • Increased participation in ASPIRE (Arts&Sciences Program in Research) 
      • Portfolios of graduating concentrators, including research 
      • Low class size for written, research, and service-intensive courses 
      • Number of students enrolled in WGS courses 

    Strategies

      • Organize student colloquia on interdisciplinary topics 
      • Organize pedagogical workshops for WGS faculty to explore techniques for teaching topics in gender across disciplines 
      • Continue exit interviews with graduating concentrators 
      • Increase participation in campus-wide initiatives, such as CxC 
      • Maintain adequate faculty to keep classes small 
      • Increase number of students enrolled in WGS courses 
    • Expand opportunities for engaged learning among undergraduates 

    Performance indicators

      • Number of service-learning courses 
      • Number of student internships 
      • Begin to explore alternative modes of teaching and ways to reach non-traditional students, such as distance learning classes 
      • Increased WGS faculty-student dialogue about diversity 

    Strategies

      • Maintain and seek to increase University, College, and Departmental support for faculty participation in service-learning 
      • Maintain and seek to increase University, College, and Departmental support to expand curriculum in service-learning 
      • Maintain and develop community connections to sustain and increase service-learning and internship opportunities 
      • Seek to increase University, College, and Departmental support to invite guest speakers to promote awareness of diversity 
    • Expand opportunities for graduate research and professional training 

    Performance indicators

      • Number of professional development workshops (such as grant-writing, job materials, conference abstracts) for graduate students 
      • Number of graduate student reading groups 
      • Number of graduate students who present at conferences and other colloquia. 

    Strategies

      • Maintain and seek to increase University, College, and Departmental support for graduate student travel 
      • Maintain and seek to increase University, College, and Departmental support for increased faculty involvement in graduate student mentoring 

    3. Diversity: continue to enhance student learning through exposure to diverse cultures, increased diversity in WGS classes, and increased diversity among WGS faculty. 

    • Enhance student learning through exposure to diverse cultures 

    Performance indicators

      • Number of courses in WGS concentration that address issues of diversity 
      • Number of WGS “courses of related interest” that focus on diversity-oriented content 
      • Number of students traveling to/interacting with different cultures 

    Strategies

      • Increase the number of WGS rubric courses related to diversity 
      • Work with department, college and university administrators to secure more course releases for existing faculty 
      • Work with college and university administrators to hire more WGS faculty Increase the number of opportunities for students to interact locally with different cultures (Service-Learning, LSU’s Center for Community, Engagement, Learning and Leadership, partnership opportunities with local Baton Rouge community organizations) 
      • Work with departments offering “courses of related interest” to improve tracking of offerings and develop new ones 
      • Encourage more WGS concentrators to study abroad either in summer session or academic semester and identify sources of funding to facilitate such travel 
      • Increase the number of international exchange students in the WGS concentration 
      • Encourage student participation in local organizations that focus on diversity issues 
    • Increase diversity in WGS classes 

    Performance indicator

      • Degree of student diversity by race, gender, sexual orientation, class, nationality, etc., in WGS classes 

    Strategies

      • Target minority and underrepresented populations for WGS classes 
      • Target minority and underrepresented populations for WGS concentration and provide sufficient mentorship so that they complete the program 
      • Explore outreach and partnerships with BRCC and Southern University 
    • Increase diversity among WGS faculty 

    Performance indicator

      • Number of WGS faculty members who represent diverse races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, etc. 

    Strategies

      • Increase recruitment of existing faculty at LSU to WGS from targeted areas mentioned above and provide sufficient mentorship to assist them in their careers 
      • Work with university administrators to increase hiring and retention of WGS-oriented faculty from diverse backgrounds 
      • Work with department, college, and university administrators to increase the number of visiting international professors and target for research and teaching partnerships with WGS during their time at LSU 

    4. Engagement: create and strengthen connections with partners to enhance research, teaching and service that will benefit local and global communities. 

    • Strengthen and expand the connections of faculty, staff and students with the community 

    Performance indicators

      • Number of students engaged in community activities and outreach 
      • Number of community programs and events in which WGS student, staff and faculty are involved 
      • Number of service-learning classes taught by WGS faculty and graduate students 

    Strategies

      • Work with the College and University to provide support for service-learning courses. 
      • Publicize WGS activities, including outreach events, more widely, including through the use of social media 
      • Provide information on the website about WGS speakers available for community events 
      • Invite experts from the community to speak in classes and at WGS events 
      • Strengthen outreach activities such as “Community Connections” and “Friends of WGS” programming by including community members in planning and implementing activities 
      • Promote the adoption of service-learning in WGS courses with assistance from the Center for Engagement, Learning and Leadership 
      • Encourage faculty to apply for service-learning grants 
    • Foster research, teaching and service that can improve local, regional, and global communities 

    Performance indicators

      • Number of classes that focus on improving communities 
      • Number of faculty and graduate student applications for internal and external grants for research and teaching involving community engagement 
      • Number of publications of faculty and graduate students related to community engagement and improvement 
      • Number of awards received and grants awarded to faculty and graduate students for research and/or teaching that involves community engagement 

    Strategies

      • Explore collaborative research, teaching and service with other universities and units, such as the LSU Law School 
      • Work with the University and the College to identify ways to support faculty and graduate student travel to conferences related to community engagement 
      • Encourage and support faculty and graduate student grant applications to facilitate research with community engagement 
      • Collaborate with local organizations and other units at LSU to solicit funding to invite presentations on community engagement projects in WGS classes, WGS Research Series, and other events and to develop networks in the community that will lead to classroom enrichment