Women’s and Gender Studies

The Women’s and Gender Studies (WGST) program at UCF is more than just an interdisciplinary program. It’s a dynamic initiative that brings together students from all UCF colleges, providing an excellent classroom experience and unique opportunities to serve local, regional and global communities.

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At UCF

WGST is highly active on campus, offering and participating in numerous events. At the start of the year, we were featured in the UCF Blackstone LaunchPad event, “Leading the World One Woman at a Time.” WGST faculty discussed their research, teaching and service to a student and faculty audience. Christine Mouton, UCF Victims Services director, and Anne Bubriski, WGST director, hosted two meetings with international women leaders from around the world in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) through World Orlando and the U.S. State Department. They engaged in discussions on women’s leadership, violence against women and women as change-makers under the theme of “Promoting Peace and Security.” In Spring, WGST brought Donna Orender, a former professional athlete and sports Senior Executive, including the Commissioner of the PGA Tour and former President of the WNBA and now CEO of Generation W, a women and girls leadership organization, to speak to students at our Women’s History Month event “Shattering the Glass Backboard: Leadership and Advocacy in Sports,” which was co-sponsored with Cassie Willard, Director of UCF Blackstone LaunchPad.

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In the Community

The Science Leadership and Mentoring (SLAM) program had an outstanding year. This year, SLAM received a Community Action Grant from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for “SLAM-Space.” SLAM-Space featured a two-month concentrated program on space and space-related careers. SLAM participants visited UCF’s Robinson Observatory with guest speaker Dr. Adriane Dove, UCF Associate Professor of Physics. They also heard from a panel of UCF alumnae who now work in aerospace engineering and other space-related fields and finished the program with a field trip to the Kennedy Space Center. Anne Bubriski, SLAM Director, presented a talk about SLAM and SLAM-Space at the “Gender STEM Network Conference” at Heidelberg University in Germany. Lastly, our two SLAM Facilitators were offered full scholarships from AAUW to attend their three-day National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) at the University of Maryland in May.

In her Introduction to Women’s Studies courses, Leandra Preston’s students collectively completed over 1,000 hours of service learning this past year. They worked with community partners such as Harvest Food Bank, Days for Girls, Women’s League of Voters, Safehouse Animal Rescue, and Generation W, among many other organizations.

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Legacy Retirement

After serving as the WGST Director for thirteen years, Maria Santana-Rogers retired in May. Santana-Rogers dedicated 29 years to UCF, leaving a lasting impact. During her tenure, she successfully established a nationally recognized WGST program that spanned academic disciplines, colleges, and local and global communities.. Through partnerships with organizations such as the Florida Farmworkers Association, American Association of University Women, Planned Parenthood, Harvest Food Bank and Orange and Seminole County Public Schools, she extended student engagement into surrounding communities. Santana-Rogers also created seven student scholarships, which are awarded annually, and established ongoing funding opportunities for UCF faculty. Her unwavering positivity, laughter and commitment to social justice have influenced all her work at UCF. We wish her the best in her next chapter of life.

— Anne Bubriski, director