Collegiate Times

The new director of the Women?s Studies Program, Barbara Ellen Smith, received a warm welcome to Virginia Tech in a reception sponsored by the department of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Students gathered in the Torgersen Museum Room on Friday to congratulate Smith and also to learn about the upcoming events and activities planned by the department.

?I?ve received an exceedingly warm welcome, which I?ve greatly appreciated,? Smith said. ?(At the reception) there was an overflow crowd. We even ran out of name tags, an excellent sign of interest.?

Smith comes to Tech from the University of Memphis, where she served as the Director of the Women?s Studies program from 1998 to 2001 and worked as the Director of the Center for Research on Women from 1998 to 2005.

?Dr. Smith was hired because she directed a similar program at Memphis, is a seasoned director of Women?s Studies and works well with people,? said Elizabeth Fine, chair of the department of Interdisciplinary Studies.

?She brings a tremendous amount of expertise and prestige to Tech,? said Laura Gillman, associate professor of the department of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Along with her directing experience, Smith possesses an extensive background of research in gender in Appalachia and the U.S. South, bringing a different focus to Tech appealing to a variety of students and faculty, Fine said.

?There is a strong interest in our department and in other departments in Appalachian Studies. I foresee her involved in research projects across department lines,? Fine said.

Smith said she is also looking forward to future projects in the department.

?Pulling Appalachian Studies and gender together, making it more visible and encouraging that kind of cross-pollination is something I?d like to do.?

Along with the typical duties expected of a director and the predicted inter-department projects and research, Gillman explained that as the new Women?s Studies director, Smith will be involved in other activities aimed specifically at promoting gender justice on campus.

?Dr. Smith?s roles have been cast in a wide net in that her responsibilities encompass the normal director roles, like working with professors and curriculum, but she also has to be an advocate of women. Historically, Women?s Studies Directors at Tech are national activists.?

Yet, with her past experience and research, Smith is confident in her new position and is ready to work with the new situations and new faces Tech has to offer.

?I?m excited to stand on the shoulders of the people before me who have done excellent work and figure out how to harness the great dedication and energy that are evident amongst the faculty and students here,? she said.