February 20, 2019
Gender, women, and sexuality studies department to host Fulbright senior scholar
Joyce Wu, research fellow at the Australian National University, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Senior Scholar Award to research gender and diversity mainstreaming at K-State from July 2019 through January 2020.
Her visit will be hosted by the gender, women, and sexuality studies department.
Wu's project, "Between Rhetoric and Experience: a Case Study of Kansas State University's Gender and Diversity Initiatives," will research the successes and lessons in gender and diversity efforts, attending in particular to the way that gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and class diversity are incorporated into research projects. As a land-grant university, K-State's research strengths align well with the global growing interest of promoting women's leadership and participation in STEM. Such interest emerges from the recognition that gender equity and diversity promote research excellence through broadening the pool of students, academics and professional staff. The research aligns with K-State's diversity goals and initiatives and will help document good practices and share them with universities both nationally and overseas, as well as identify new activities and development needed to fully achieve equity.
Wu selected K-State as the site to conduct her research because its efforts to achieve gender equity are long-standing, and extend throughout the university. The Kansas State University Office for the Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering, or KAWSE, the Office of Diversity, and the Kansas Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, or KS-LSAMP, are examples of institutional commitment to mainstream a culture of diversity and respect in all aspects of campus life. Women's active leadership in organizations like the President's Commission on the Status of Women and the Center for Advocacy, Research and Education, or CARE, demonstrates institutional commitment to supporting equity and inclusion. Units including the gender, women, and sexuality studies department and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification, which has as one of its research goal the empowerment of women farmers, make gender a central research focus.
Wu connected with members of the gender, women, and sexuality studies department in spring 2018 when the department hosted her talk on her 2018 book, "Involving Men in Ending Violence Against Women," based on her fieldwork in Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, and Pakistan; and her work with organizations working to end domestic violence.
"We were impressed with Dr. Wu's research, and very excited about her proposed project analyzing the impact of programs designed to mainstream women and those from other marginalized groups in higher education," said Angela Hubler, associate professor of gender, women, and sexuality studies. "We are honored and pleased that her project has been funded and she will be returning to campus."
Wu is an internationally recognized expert on gender mainstreaming, violence against women, gender and international development, and critical masculinity studies. Currently, she is a joint research fellow at the Australian National University Crawford School of Public Policy and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, or CSIRO. The Australian National University is among the top 20 universities in the world — QS World University Rankings for 2018 — and CSIRO is the Australian Government's national science research institute.
During her time at K-State, Wu will guest lecture in several classes and present her preliminary research findings at a research seminar open to the public.