{"id":4288,"date":"2026-07-17T11:05:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/?page_id=4288"},"modified":"2026-08-10T16:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T20:51:27","slug":"women-gender-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/women-gender-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"2025-26 &#8211; Women&#8217;s and Gender Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t<div class=\"jumbotron text-center bg-inverse mb-0 p-0\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"background: rgb(0,0,0);background: linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(0,0,0,1) 0%, rgba(43,43,43,1) 100%);\"\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2788 img-fluid\" style=\"max-height: 500px;\" src=\"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/07\/2026-header-womengender.jpg\" alt=\"Large group poses together in an office space\" \/><\/p>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container pb-3\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n<p class=\"text-metallic text-center font-italic font-size-sm mt-3 mb-0\">UCF hosted the U.S. Department of State\u2019s International Visitor Leadership Program for a session on &#8220;Combating Coercive Violence&#8221;.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"jumbotron jumbotron-fluid bg-inverse-t-2 mb-0 py-4\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<a class=\"btn btn-outline-i-warning mb-4 mr-3\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/womengender\/\"\t\t\t\t\t\ttarget=\"_blank\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\tDepartment website\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t Anne Bubriski, director<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h4 text-transform-none text-primary-lighter\">Active Students <span class=\"h6 font-weight-normal\">(as of Fall 2025)*<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Undergrad minors: 67<br \/>\nUndergrad certificates: 7<br \/>\nGraduate certificates: 13<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h4 text-transform-none text-primary-lighter\">2025-26 Student Credit Hours: <span class=\"text-white\">1,264<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><small>*All active students with declared CAH programs are included in the enrollment counts.<\/small><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"jumbotron jumbotron-fluid bg-secondary pt-5\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n<p>The Women\u2019s and Gender Studies (WGST) Program experienced a year of growth and engagement, expanding opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, supporting innovative scholarship, strengthening community partnerships, and creating meaningful learning experiences for students across the university.<\/p>\n<p>A significant highlight was the launch of the inaugural Interdisciplinary Women\u2019s and Gender Studies Working Group (IWGSWG), led by Karina Cespedes, associate professor of philosophy, humanities, and cultural studies, and Anne Bubriski, director of WGST. The initiative brought together more than 25 faculty members from seven UCF colleges, who met biweekly throughout the academic year to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthen research across campus. IWGSWG also hosted the Second Annual Interdisciplinary Research Colloquium, featuring faculty presentations exploring women\u2019s and gender issues from global perspectives.<\/p>\n<p>WGST further expanded its community impact through international engagement. Bubriski hosted the U.S. Department of State\u2019s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) <em>Combating Coercive Violence<\/em> Synthesis Session in partnership with WorldOrlando. The day-long seminar convened participants from across Africa for collaborative discussions focused on addressing gender-based violence in their home countries.<\/p>\n<p>The program continued its commitment to advancing research and student success through the annual Gloria Anzald\u00faa Research Excellence Awards, providing two faculty research grants of $1,000 each. This year\u2019s recipients were Annabelle Conroy, associate lecturer and undergraduate coordinator in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, for her project, <em>Organizing Against All Odds: Women Mobilizing for Workers\u2019 Rights<\/em>, and Elsie Olan, associate professor in the School of Teacher Education, for her project, <em>Integrating Generative AI to Support Transdisciplinary Learning and Student Engagement<\/em>. WGST also awarded eight student scholarships recognizing excellence in STEM, honors education, research travel, and community engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Teaching and experiential learning remain at the heart of the WGST mission. The program\u2019s long-standing service-learning course, <em>Introduction to Women\u2019s Studies<\/em>, taught by Leandra Preston, engages students in more than 1,000 hours of community service each semester. WGST also expanded participation in UCF\u2019s Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM) Initiative to reduce textbook costs and increase educational accessibility and supported faculty development through conferences, workshops, and professional certifications focused on educational technology and the integration of artificial intelligence in higher education pedagogy.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"372\" class=\"float-right img-fluid mb-3 ml-3 alignright wp-image-4953\" style=\"width: 40vw; max-width: 275px;\" src=\"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/07\/2026-inset-womengender.jpg\" alt=\"Tina Hunter holds service award\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/07\/2026-inset-womengender.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/07\/2026-inset-womengender-242x300.jpg 242w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Recognizing the importance of expanding opportunities for women and girls in STEM, WGST continued its support of the Science Leadership and Mentoring (SLAM) program, which pairs seventh-grade students with UCF students in STEM majors for year-long mentorship. This year, ten mentor-mentee pairs explored topics including careers in physics, medicine, and engineering, leadership development, conflict management, problem-solving, self-confidence, goal setting, and even rocket design, helping inspire future generations of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.<\/p>\n<p>This year also marked the retirement of WGST Administrative Assistant Tina Hunter following an exceptional 35 years of service to UCF. For more than 15 years, Hunter was an integral member of the WGST team, providing steadfast administrative leadership, supporting students, and contributing significantly to the program\u2019s daily operations. She also served on the WGST Advisory Board and played an important role in organizing the annual Women-to-Women Conference in partnership with the Farmworkers Association of Florida for over a decade. WGST extends its deepest gratitude for her many years of dedicated service and wishes her continued happiness and success in her well-deserved retirement.<\/p>\n<p>An interdisciplinary academic program offering undergraduate and graduate certificates as well as an undergraduate minor, WGST serves students from every UCF college. The program remains committed to developing critical thinking, communication, civic engagement, and community-focused learning while fostering an intellectually diverse academic environment.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-5\" \/>\n<h2 class=\"display-4 letter-spacing-1 text-uppercase text-center mb-5\"><span class=\"pb-1\" style=\"border-bottom: 6px solid #ffcc00;\">Highlights<\/span><\/h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row justify-content-md-center\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<!-- - Card # - --><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-wrapper mb-4 col-6 col-md-4\">\n<div class=\"card card-primary border-0 h-100 appear\">\n<div><a class=\"stretched-link text-secondary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nicholsonstudentmedia.com\/news\/women-and-gender-studies-colloquium-addresses-sexual-aggression\/article_2fa759b5-35c7-49a7-91c9-c3d6c6e071c9.html \" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"card-img-top\" src=\"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/spotlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/07\/2026-card-womengender-colloquium.jpg\" alt=\"Person presents in front of a screen with text\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-block d-flex flex-column justify-content-between p-0\"><a class=\"card-title h5 mb-1 p-3 h-100\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nicholsonstudentmedia.com\/news\/women-and-gender-studies-colloquium-addresses-sexual-aggression\/article_2fa759b5-35c7-49a7-91c9-c3d6c6e071c9.html \" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Women and Gender Studies colloquium addresses sexual aggression<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":280,"featured_media":4759,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-fullscreen.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4288","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - 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