Spring 2012 - Clarion University

theGLitch
“It began with the Status of Women
Subcommittee, with a few of us meeting in the
basement of Harvey Hall. We were feminists and
any project that would advance the cause of
women was a good thing. Understanding the
milieu of the times matters—the Mary Keetz Study
at West Chester showed the predominance
of male administrators and faculty across the
system, and other areas where the academy
failed to recognize the contributions of women.
CU was not an exception.
Creating a WS Program was a good thing,
something we as founders thought important.
You ask, How did it finally happen How does
a flower grow The process felt like a natural
evolution of activist minds collaborating. I don’t
think of it in terms of defining events, more like a
flow.
While as her partner, I could not vote on Dr.
Deb for director, I knew she was the right person
for the times.”
Kathryn graham, Ph.D.
retired Faculty, english
Chair, ws Founding Committee and advisory Council
The one glitch in the process of establishing the Women’s
Studies program, outside of the condition of the space, occurred
when some of the promised funding was delayed. The intended
director of the new program withdrew in protest. Some committee
members wanted the committee to follow suit. Fearful of losing all we
had worked for, i called an eleventh hour meeting of the
committee to discuss a course of action. We finally agreed that if
a suitable director could be found, we would proceed in spite of the
delayed funding. The final result of this crisis was naming
Deborah Burghardt as DireCtor oF woMen’s
stuDies.
Many of us on the committee had seen Deb in action with
students and were confident in her leadership capability. But
few could have predicted the incredible enthusiasm and energy
she brought to the job and her ability to galvanize the campus
community. If Dean Scanlon was the single most important person
in institutionalizing the Women’s Studies Program, then Deborah
Burghardt was the guarantor of the program’s long-term
success. It is impossible to overestimate the contribution Deb has
made to Women’s Studies at Clarion for 20 years during my personal
involvement in them.
5
~ richard nicholls, Ph.D.
Psychology and ws Founder