News
With the departure of Director Mary Childers, The Women's Resource Center may take a different course at the College.
While the success and accessibility of the Center are dependent on the Administrative Assistant and the student staff, the director's activities are a large part of the Center's visibility, according to the organization's annual report.
Childers, who will take her position as head of the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office this fall, instituted many changes since coming to the College as the Center's director in 1991.
But because the Center is so dependent on Childers, her departure raises questions about the Center's future direction.
"The first thing that needs to be done is to discuss how to manage the Women's Resource Center on an interim basis," Dean of Students Lee Pelton said, adding that an acting director will be hired until a permanent replacement is found.
Childers said she would work closely with the interim director to ensure a smooth transition and the continuation of the Center's programs.
Realizing the limited resources available to the Center, Childers geared its programs to issues students felt were important, rather than developing her own agenda.
"I wanted it to be a student-centered space where students identified current topics and developed programs that met the immediate needs of students," Childers said.
In order to accommodate the rising awareness and need for programs dealing with the issue of sexual assault, Childers and English Professor Brenda Silver co-directed the Sexual Harassment and Rape Education Network, an umbrella for coordinating the various resources on campus dealing with the issue.
SHARE encompasses the Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Committee, the Rape Education Action Committee, as well as other programs that include academic assistance, men's discussion groups and courses in self defense and rape prevention as well as other programs.
"We are trying to make sure that everyone knows what everyone else is doing so we don't duplicate services, so that we know where to refer people who want to help or want to receive help," Childers said.
In the last year, Childers focused particular attention on the overlap of racism and sexism.
