News
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program

The inaugural Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies symposium, hosted on March 28, will feature original work by individuals from across the RIT community.

The award is given to an individual who began their studies as a first-year student at RIT and is entering their final year of undergraduate study with the highest grade point average across the university.

The first class of graduates from RIT’s women’s, gender, and sexuality studies (WGSS) program will be celebrated during commencement this month. The bachelor’s degree program was approved and offered for current students in 2023, and enrollment will be available to incoming first-year students this fall.

As part of RIT’s Women’s History Month celebrations, students from across the university submitted their poster designs to the annual Women’s History Month poster contest. The theme of each contest entry is crafted around a quote from Audre Lorde’s collection of essays, Sister Outsider.

Students enrolled in an Opinion Media course flexed their creative muscles and persuasive writing skills by producing a new publication about gun violence printed with ink made from an assault rifle.

ABC Radio National in Australia interviews Corinna Schlombs, associate professor of history, about Ada Lovelace, a 19th-century mathematician.

Growing interest in gender matters from employers, students and academics has resulted in a new choice for students trying to meet their immersion requirement at Rochester Institute of Technology: an immersion in queer and transgender studies.

The Division of Diversity & Inclusion is highlighting women whose work makes a positive contribution to the RIT community, including Sociology and Anthropology alumna Celeste Brown, who works as the Head Coach for Women's Ice Hockey.

RIT's College of Liberal Arts honored student achievements in writing with 15 writing awards on Friday, March 19. This year marks the 41st year the awards were presented, though the first time the ceremony was held virtually.

RIT celebrates the 19th Amendment, equal rights, and the power of voting with “Moving Forward: Suffrage Past, Present, and Future.” The special programming includes talks, voter registration and pre-election events and exhibits.

LaVerne McQuiller Williams, senior associate dean of RIT’s College of Liberal Arts, has been named interim COLA dean effective June 1. McQuiller Williams succeeds Dean James Winebrake, who is leaving RIT on June 30 to become provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. 

Assistant Professor Alan Smerbeck is working with Q Center director Chris Hinesley on an updated edition of Gender Diversity: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty, which is set to come out in spring 2020. Originally published in 2016, the guide is meant to serve as a base-level reference book for learning about gender diversity, labels and pronouns, and the do’s and don’ts of talking about gender identities.