Center Director's Welcome Back Message

Welcome to the Fall 2022 semester! As we begin a new academic year, the Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership team is ready to lift off to greater heights by working closely with our students, faculty, and community partners to engage, collaborate, and elevate the voices of Black women. The summer has been a roller coaster, beginning with historic wins such as the appointment of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman justice to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States, which was celebrated globally by all women. The historic win in the justice system with this appointment was soon followed by the crushing blow to women’s reproductive rights with the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, another event that reverberated across the world. These two events clearly demonstrate the interconnectedness of Black women and how the developments in the US justice system can have ripple events worldwide. Global solidarity is essential to achieving the rights of women everywhere.

At the Center, the summer has been a busy period as we continued our research on the Women at Howard project, led by Dr. Anita Plummer, Associate Director for Faculty Research and Engagement. This summer, the Center provided $20,000 in faculty and student research grants to support faculty conducting research on women and gender issues. We also launched the Women in Leadership at Howard University, the first in our three-part oral narrative project documenting the leadership journeys of women deans and senior vice presidents at Howard University. This project was directed by Professor Idit Dvir, a collaborative project with students from the Cathy Hughes School of Communications.

 

I am elated to announce that the team at the Center is expanding, and we will soon be welcoming new staff, new student ambassadors, and student volunteers. We welcome everyone to join us in making the Center what we want it to be—a center of excellence for Black women, feminist activism, and transformational leadership! This semester promises to be another impactful one; check out our list of upcoming events and join us for the first annual Global Leadership of Women (GLOW) Summit on October 4, 2022, featuring Her Excellency Monica Geingos, the First Lady of Namibia, and distinguished Black feminist and civil rights scholar, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw.

On behalf of the Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership team, I wish you the very best for a successful and super impactful fall semester!
 

J. Jarpa Dawuni, Esq. Ph.D

Associate Professor of Political Science

Founding Director, Center for Women, Gender & Global Leadership