East Little Rock Times

Arkansas State University has 268 female faculty members which represents 54% of the faculty on campus. A group of women, many of whom have worked for the university for decades, are sharing their thoughts and stories at an upcoming event. “Women Scholars and Scientists Roundtable: The Difference Gender Makes in Our Work and Lives,” will be held Wednesday, March 29, from 3-4:30 p.m. in the Arkansas River Room of the Reng Student Union.“We thought this would be an excellent way to bring scholars and scientists together,” said Dr. Sarah Wilkerson-Freeman, professor of history and moderator of the event which came about after a conversation that took place in the history department.“The pandemic put a stop to many events and the women and gender studies group had not sponsored much in the last few years,” said Wilkerson-Freeman. She said at first, they were just going to do a women’s history roundtable but it became more than that.“Since we have so many excellent female faculty at A-State, the concept seemed to suggest itself. We were fortunate to be able to get some great scholars and scientists on board on fairly short notice.”

This event includes faculty members from different areas and at different stages in their careers.“One of the things I hope might come out of this roundtable is an interdisciplinary woman support group. A group that can empower each other in tackling contemporary challenges women in academia face that just aren’t discussed in department, college, chair or other committee meetings,” said Dr. Kellie Wilson-Buford, interim chair, Department of Criminology, Sociology, and Geography and associate professor of history.

Original source can be found here.