"Looking Back, Looking Forward:

50 Years of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at Pitt."

The Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program (GSWS) is excited to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a University of Pittsburgh program.

Founded as the Women’s Studies Program in 1972, it is one of the oldest women’s studies programs in the United States. As all good anniversaries are, this is a wonderful occasion to celebrate our history!

We are excited to do this by recognizing our past accomplishments, our founders, early graduates, and our growth and evolution. We hope that learning more about the visions and efforts that fueled this program’s creation, starting in the late 1960s, will offer resources and insights for the 2020s and beyond.

As we plan for the future of GSWS, how can we continue to grow, flourish, and bring new opportunities to our students, faculty, and affiliates?

9-10: Something Out of Nothing:

The Work of Creating Women's Studies at Pitt

Lower Level, William Pitt Union

Gail Hornstein, Peggy Renner, Linda Pritchard, S. Jay Kleinberg

10-11: Reimagining Knowledge: Creating the Curriculum

Lower Level, William Pitt Union

Mary Briscoe, Maurine Greenwald, Irene H. Frieze, Marcia Landy

11:15-12:15: Changing Everything: Continuing Challenges

Lower Level, William Pitt Union

Marianne Novy, Kathleen Blee, Carol Stabile

12:15-1:30 Thematized Intergenerational Lunch Conversations:

What Can We Learn Together?

Lower Level, William Pitt Union

Alums, Faculty and Community Members

Lunch will be served. 

1:30-2:30: GSWS Student Research Presentation

Lower Level, William Pitt Union

2:45-3:45: From Women's Studies to Gender, Sexuality and Womens Studies

Lower Level, William Pitt Union

Todd Reeser, Nancy Glazener, Laura Lovett

4:00-6:00: Continued Conversations

Kimbo Conference Room/William Pitt Union, Lower Lounge

5:00-6:15: Cocktail Hour in GSWS Offices GSWS Graduate Certificate Students and Faculty

(per University policy, no undergraduates permitted)

7:00: Keynote Rep. La'Tasha D. Mayes

PA House of Representatives & GSWSAlum

Alumni Hall, 7th Floor

8:00: Dinner and Dancing

Alumni Hall, 5th floor

Ongoing: Outside the Lower Lounge in the William Pitt Union, we’ll have Lynne Layton Interns, recording oral interviews, scanning documents or helping us find new parts of our history. Stop by and bring your materials to help us document our history; we’ll be adding material to our Omeka Database.

Ready to RSVP?  Please use this link to share your interest in attending the presentations/lunch/dinner, note any required event accommodations, and as a way to propose a topic (organizing experience/political concern/professional expertise) for our Thematized Intergenerational Conversation Lunch Tables, if desired: 50th Anniversary Celebration RSVP  The LAST day to RSVP for this event is March 17, 2023.

Need a hotel room for this event?  Please use this link: 50th Anniversary Celebration HOTEL The LAST day to RSVP for this hotel block is March 6, 2023. 

Want to bookmark the event and share with friends? Please use this link: 50th Anniversary Celebration Event Calendar

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.  We are excited to share this momentous occasion with our GSWS Community and beyond!