A major gift from a student of women's studies at Washington University and her husband will create the first endowed professorship in women's studies and will considerably strengthen the popular academic program in Arts and Sciences.
Susan Stiritz, a candidate for a Ph.D. in English literature and a graduate certificate in women's studies, said she proposed the gift to the University because a course in women's studies taught by Helen Power, Ph.D., senior lecturer and coordinator of the Women's Studies Program, had convinced her of the value of feminist thought and pedagogy. "Women's studies courses demonstrate," she said, "that when women's concerns and contributions move into the foreground of intellectual investigation, traditional understandings give way to new vistas. I wanted to help Washington University offer this creative, revisionary way of thinking to more students."
Susan Stiritz's initial gift of $1 million to fund the Susan E. and William P. Stiritz Distinguished Professorship was followed by a $500,000 challenge grant by her husband, St. Louis business executive William Stiritz. "The world is better off when women's voices are attended to," he said. "Washington University's leadership in women's studies gratifies the whole community."
The $500,000 that will be raised to meet the challenge will establish a Women's Studies Fund for general support of the program, including conferences, audiovisual materials, speakers, scholarships and research. The endowment also includes an additional $500,000 anonymous bequest designated for library holdings in women's studies.
Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton said women's studies offers the University a fresh perspective on the world, a point of view that sometimes has been overlooked. "If we are to grow as a university and as individual students and scholars, we must learn to cast our nets wide and gather our knowledge from all of the great minds of history and of our own time. When we begin to do that, the important role that women have played becomes very evident," he said.
Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor and dean of Arts and Sciences, said the generous commitment would advance both course offerings and research in women's studies. "We look forward to attracting not only a distinguished professor, but also the interest of prospective students and colleagues looking for path-breaking opportunities in this important field," Macias said.
The Women's Studies Program, founded in 1972 by Joyce Trebilcot, Ph.D., now professor emeritus of philosophy, was one of the first of its kind in the country. The interdisciplinary program offers an undergraduate major and minor and a graduate certificate. It includes core courses as well as courses from several Arts and Sciences departments.
Power and Associate Vice Chancellor Gerhild Williams are co-chairing the national search to fill the professorship.
Susan Stiritz, a 1965 graduate of Connecticut College, earned a master's degree in English literature from Washington University in 1968 and a master's in business administration from the University of Missouri at St. Louis in 1985. She worked as a public administrator for 12 years. Currently, she is writing her doctoral dissertation on the subject of hagiography and Victorian literature.
William Stiritz received a bachelor's degree in business from Northwestern University in 1959 and a master's degree in European history from St. Louis University in 1968. He is chairman of the board of Ralston Purina and chief executive officer of AgriBrands International. He has served on the Washington University Board of Trustees since 1982. The Stiritzes are charter members of the Danforth Circle of the William Greenleaf Eliot Society.
-- Barbara Rea
