Office of Internal Communications
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February 12, 2004 By Samira Zaidi A new era for the more than 21,000 women on the University of Houston campus will soon be under way. On March 9, UH will launch the Women’s Resource Center, which will provide female faculty, staff and students with resources and assistance, enabling them to have a more positive experience at UH. The center unofficially opened Jan. 20. “The center will serve as an all-purpose facility, creating partnerships with other UH departments and offices on campus, including the Women’s Studies Program, as well as counseling and health services. The center will not replicate any other services on campus. It will connect people to existing services,” said Wendy Adair, associate vice president for public affairs in the Division of University Advancement, which will manage the center. According to Adair, the center will develop programs and possibly bring guest speakers to campus. All services will be provided at no cost. She added that Susan Rosthal, director of community relations, has been appointed the center’s interim director. A search is under way for a full-time director. The Women’s Resource Center will be located in the newly renovated University Center Satellite. It will be funded this year via university advancement’s budget, as allocated by former UH President Arthur K. Smith. Since 1997, the Committee for the Status of Women has been advocating for a full-fledged women’s center with a paid professional staff. For a short time, a small center was based in the A.D. Bruce Religion Center and was funded with private donations. After two years, the funds dried up, and the center was closed. Then in 1999, Smith established the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, asking commission members to research women’s issues on campus and compile recommendations on how the university could maintain a healthy and productive climate for its female members. After conducting a comprehensive study, the commission submitted a report to Smith, outlining recommendations, which included creating a women’s resource center. “I am so happy that a cause for which I campaigned for since 1997 is coming to fruition. The Women’s Resource Center is now going to be a reality on campus,” said Saleha Khumawala, associate professor of accountancy and taxation. Khumawala was the treasurer of the Committee for the Status of Women and chairwoman for about four years. Currently, she serves on the newly formed University Commission for the Status of Women — a merger of the committee and the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. Elizabeth Gregory, director of the Women’s Studies Program, said she is eager to see the center provide more opportunities to the women on campus. “I am looking forward to see how it will develop and how the community will take part in it,” she said. UH President Jay Gogue has stated his support of the recommendations made by the Commission on Women. All faculty, staff and students are welcome to use the facilities of the new center. The hours are: |