IU Office for Women’s Affairs faces uncertainty

Following the meeting of a working group that discussed the future of the Office for Women’s Affairs, the Division of Student Affairs is launching a new initiative to improve student services and advocacy on gender issues.

This working group evaluated the services currently provided by the Office for Women’s Affairs. Some of these services will continue under Student Affairs, though discussion will continue through the summer months to determine full gender service programming and organization.   

Effective July 1, Katrina Reynolds, current assistant dean and director of student and staff services at the Office for Women’s Affairs, will become assistant dean of students for gender issues.

The decision to create this new position came from Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel’s first advisory committee meeting about the future of women’s services on campus.

Robel said the initiative will bring together the gender-related services offered in other separate departments, including the Office for Women’s Affairs, with oversight from the Division of Student Affairs.

“By establishing the position of assistant dean of students for gender issues, Student Affairs can provide high-impact services in a central, accessible and highly visible office,” Robel said in a press release.

Dean of Students Harold “Pete” Goldsmith said in an email that though Reynolds’ exact job responsibilities need to be worked out, she will bring many of the programs that support female students with her from the Office for Women’s Affairs, including advocacy programs and support for victims of sexual assault.

The Women in Science Living Learning Community, established by Reynolds and the Office for Women’s Affairs, will continue next year as part of Residential Programs and Services and the Division of Student Affairs.

Goldsmith said the Commission on Personal Safety, which was previously chaired by the Office for Women’s Affairs and Student Affairs, will now be managed by the Student Affairs division.  

Rebekah Olsen, the current coordinator of research and the Commission of Personal Safety at OWA, will also join the Student Affairs gender issues staff.

“Through the creation of this new leadership position and enhanced staffing, Student Affairs has the opportunity to provide stronger and more effective support for students facing gender issues,” Goldsmith said in a press release. “The additional resources will allow our office to work even more closely with student groups and other organizations dedicated to addressing issues of critical importance to women on campus, such as personal safety, sexual assault, mental health, leadership and professional development.”

Robel said the creation of the new assistant dean position is the first of many actions to come in the near future to affect support for women on campus and that she will continue to meet with the advisory board in the coming months.