Forty years ago was a very different time for the proverbial “women in the workplace,” even in a progressive state like Â鶹´«Ã½. In 1984, Ruth Dawson was an associate professor in the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ women’s studies program, when she happily learned that she was expecting. Dawson went to the dean’s office to apply for unpaid maternity leave.

Instead, she was fired.

Since women’s studies was a program and not an official UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ department, its faculty were not granted tenure, affecting life issues that are highly protected today.

“I was really disappointed that, after working at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ for 10 years and applying for maternity leave without pay, I was terminated,” said Dawson. “The administrators I spoke with said, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ implying I would be rehired later, but that wasn’t reassuring.”

Dawson and others in the women’s studies program were eventually granted eligibility for tenure. But, decades ago, certain mindsets were still commonplace in Â鶹´«Ã½ and the continent, and Dawson remembers “married women struggling to hold real estate property or to obtain a credit card in their own names.”

That’s why, in February and March 2025, when the (WGSS) in the (CSS) celebrates its 50th anniversary, there is much to commemorate. There will be two days of events, including a keynote speech, panel discussions and a talk-story gathering.

“We hope to continue impacting students and the community about larger issues of equality and making sure that equality doesn’t go away,” said Lani Teves, associate professor and chair of WGSS, and a 2002 alumna. “It’s really asking what kind of world do we want to live in, how do we treat one another, and what do we prioritize as a society?”

In 2012, the UH Board of Regents granted official status to the program as it became the Department of Women’s Studies. In fall 2021, it was renamed the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, to expand the subject matter. And in 2022, Teves spearheaded the creation of the , which explores the histories of sexuality and “gender normativity” across various contexts. The and queer studies certificates can be earned online.

Other WGSS milestones and achievements:

• In 2007, there were seven women’s studies majors. Today there are close to 50 WGSS majors. Alumni enjoy successful careers in various professions and workplaces, ranging from healthcare to nonprofits to higher education.
• In 2019, Meda Chesney-Lind, WGSS professor emerita, former chair and major donor, served as president of the American Society of Criminology, an international organization whose members pursue scholarly, scientific and professional knowledge about crime and delinquency.
• The department is proud of its who have won all three of the most prestigious awards in the UH System for teaching, research and service, and is the recipient of a three-year $250,000 Rockefeller grant on Gender and Globalization in Asia and the Pacific.
• The Â鶹´«Ã½ State Legislature honored WGSS in recognition of its significant impact on students and community.

.

While U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono works on behalf of the citizens of Â鶹´«Ã½, Elise Inouye is by her side to communicate positions and policies. She is Hirono’s press secretary—crafting press releases, floor speeches and more on a daily basis.

From a young age, Inouye knew she wanted to be in public service. Her time at the , specifically her first women’s studies course, solidified her decision.

“I didn’t know that that was an area of study that was even an option afforded to me,” said Inouye. “It may sound a little dramatic, but I do think that taking that one course has really changed my life.”

Inouye graduated from UH Hilo in 2017 with a double major in communication and gender and women’s studies. She said UH Hilo prepared her for her current role.

“I think that both of those programs and degrees that I received from UH Hilo have led me to where I am today, but also I use the skills that I gained and the knowledge and insight from those courses on a regular basis,” said Inouye.

She pushes preparation, especially for those with double majors.

“I think the biggest piece of advice would be to plan ahead,” said Inouye. “My career counselor, the guidance counselor that I had at Hilo was my best friend. I saw him on a monthly basis just to touch base.”

Being based in Washington, D.C. has shown Inouye that staying connected to the UH alumni community is critical.

“Being far away from Â鶹´«Ã½ and home and having that sense of community out there is crucial,” said Inouye. “It’s so important.”

Learn more about other outstanding .

Research into the brutal shakedown of the Oʻahu Community Correctional Center in 1981, and the experience and backgrounds of delinquent girls and incarcerated women in Â鶹´«Ã½ are highlights of the work of former University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ program director and professor emerita Meda Chesney-Lind, which is now available online. has made Chesney-Lind’s of research and academic work as a scholar and activist with a focus on women and crime available on ArchivesSpace.

Her extensive contribution to the field of feminist criminology has been recognized nationally, with a large number of publications and prestigious awards.

Chesney-Lind has been with UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s women’s studies department (renamed to the Department of Women, Gender and Sexualily Studies) since 1986. She also previously taught at as a lecturer.

Spanning from the 1970s to 2010s, the Meda Chesney-Lind papers provides valuable research materials, including material from various courses taught in juvenile delinquency, human sexuality, women’s studies, criminology, sociology of gender and sex roles; keynote addresses and presentations; and more.

“I have always been on the margins in terms of my work,” said Chesney-Lind. “Living in Â鶹´«Ã½ gave me a unique perspective on crime and justice, particularly around issues of race. Of course, being female in a predominantly male field was also influential, directing me to focus on the experiences of girls and women in a largely male oriented criminal justice system.”

Commitment to social activism

Chesney-Lind’s commitment to social activism began with the anti-Vietnam War movement in 1969 which influenced her becoming a criminologist. That same year, she entered the graduate program in sociology at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. Born in Woodward, Oklahoma, it was her first trip to Â鶹´«Ã½, though she had grown up hearing stories about where her mother and grandparents were from.

During her master’s study, she developed an interest in the feminist movement and was involved in the first CR (consciousness raising) group on campus which comprised the majority of faculty wives and female students. In the late 1970s and early 1980s while earning her PhD in sociology at UH Manoa, Chesney-Lind taught courses in the largest co-ed prison in Â鶹´«Ã½ as part of her teaching load at Honolulu CC. A decade later, she received an associate professor position in the women’s studies program at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹, moved up to serve as director and then became a tenured professor.

Over the years, she taught many courses that focused on the sociology of gender, women and crime. She also served in multiple leadership roles as the chair at Women and Crime Division of American Society of Criminology, president of American Society of Criminology and president of the Western Society of Criminology.

In addition to her numerous awards, she received the UH Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research and was also identified as an “alumna of merit” by Whitman College. Her recent book on girls’ use of violence, Fighting for Girls (co-edited with Nikki Jones), won an award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Paying it forward

Chesney-Lind and her husband, Ian Lind, a former investigative reporter with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, established the in 2020, the first endowed scholarship for the department to support students pursuing a degree or certificate in women’s studies at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹.

In retirement, she continues to support the women’s studies department working on Hawaiian criminal justice issues with Professor Meripa Godinet of the on representation of Native Hawaiians in the criminal legal system, and also volunteers with the Women’s Campus Club thrift store.

, and are popular majors students who desire a career in health care choose at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. They can also add a double major to better understand and help dispel prejudices experienced by women, LGBTQ+ and marginalized groups in society.

In the , the (WGSS), formerly known as Women’s Studies, offers an interdisciplinary approach to studying women and gender issues, featuring a , and certificates, and a .

“We all deserve full health potential, but disparities exist among specific population groups in the attainment of that,” said Lani Teves, WGSS chair and associate professor. “This is why students have many opportunities across our curriculum to think critically and creatively about solutions to health inequities, and to see themselves as key actors in making health care more accessible and equitable across many communities.”

A WGSS student and two alumni explain why seeking a double major in WGSS made sense to them in pursuit of health care careers.

‘Topics touch so many strands of my identity’

Cassidy Silva came to UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ in 2019 as a Regents Scholar. With the intent of applying to medical school after earning her bachelor’s degree in cell biology, the Mililani High School graduate plunged headlong into WGSS and found the subject matter fascinating.

“There’s a synergy that exists between all that I learn in the classroom, my past experiences, and my personal and professional goals,” said Silva. “Like that of no other field of study, WGSS topics touch so many strands of my identity.”

As a research intern at Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Silva helped recruit participants for a study on the diet and eating practices of Native Hawaiian mothers and their babies. Silva also ran the social media account of the Â鶹´«Ã½-based organization SafeSex808, which focuses on expanding teen knowledge of safe and consensual sex.

She used her WGSS education while interning at the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s (JABSOM) Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, which fits into her dream of becoming a doctor specializing in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Silva is currently a junior hoping to graduate in spring 2023.

‘Working to create a more equitable society’

Cameron Woods, who graduated in spring 2022 with their bachelor’s in public health and WGSS, hopes to be a nurse practitioner. A Kalani High School graduate, Woods enrolled at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ in 2018 and was eager to take all the public health classes that were offered. Yet, as a sophomore, Woods felt something was missing.

“It became clear that my public health education would not be complete without studying and understanding the historical, social and structural issues that have created and perpetuated health disparities,” said the 2018 Regents Scholar.

That’s when WGSS became Woods’ second major. Woods also found fulfilling part-time work at a local health center, where two aspects of the job were making organizational changes to ensure LGBTQ+ patients and employees feel safe and comfortable in the clinic, and meeting with patients seeking guidance on gender-affirming health care.

“Our insurance system makes it very difficult for people to receive gender-affirming care, and it can be quite challenging and even traumatizing to navigate the health system on their own. I tried to take as much of that burden off the patient,” they said. “My advice to students, if you want to challenge yourself to deconstruct and reframe your ideas about society, and have a career working to create a more equitable society, WGSS is a great major to consider.”

‘I am a better person today because of WGSS’

Austin Ajimura, who graduated in 2019 with his bachelor’s in biology and WGSS, is pursuing a master’s in public health in social and behavioral health sciences, with the hopes of becoming a public health professional.

From early childhood to serving as Mililani High’s student body president, Ajimura wanted to pursue a career in medicine. “But what I failed to consider were the forces that affect my patients’ lives external to medicine”, said Ajimura. “When someone leaves the clinic, no matter how much you try to help them, they will continue to face their challenges.”

Ajimura is still haunted by the memory of a client while volunteering at JABSOM’s HOME (Houseless Outreach and Medical Education) Project.

“The client was in the final stages of cancer, a chronically houseless veteran and not receiving needed medical care or social support. We were able to assist to the best of our abilities but I never saw this individual again. I think about that person a lot. The experience further fueled my passion for change, because it was the first time I really saw the direct and devastating impacts of health disparities and poor access to health care.”

Ajimura’s main duties at Â鶹´«Ã½ HOME are assisting patients to obtain health insurance, establish primary care, and identify/overcome insurance and treatment barriers. He also works with city first-responders who have contracted or been exposed to COVID-19 by doing data collection and case investigation, determining appropriate quarantine/isolation timelines, and providing follow-up.

“I am a better person today because of WGSS. It has transformed me in the way that I view the world and society,” he said.

For more, visit the .

This work is an example of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s goals of (PDF) and (PDF), two of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

A pair of students will receive professional development, mentoring, networking and research support opportunities after being selected to a national leadership program in the field of humanities. Nominated by faculty in the , Azlynn Brandenburg and MacAlasdair Uchimura are among 17 students from eight states to serve on the inaugural .

Hosted by the National Humanities Center, members will participate in various interactive experiences in the 2021–22 academic year that explore the importance of humanistic perspectives to address the concerns of contemporary society. Activities may also include a focus on specific projects and engagement at their home institutions.

According to the center, by bringing together a diverse group of students with shared passions and professional goals, “the council aims to facilitate creative and ambitious inter-institutional collaborations that help students prepare for a wide range of careers.”

Brandenburg, a senior triple majoring in , , and , hopes to attend graduate school and looks forward to the experience to grow as a researcher and academic.

“In participating in this council, we have all been encouraged to think about any research or community outreach projects that we would like to explore and seek collaboration on,” Brandenburg said. “As of right now, I am leaning towards a digital humanities project that would center around education reform and combating the spread of misinformation.”

Uchimura, a junior major, hopes to engage with experts in the humanities field and mentors who will assist in the transition from undergraduate to graduate level courses.

“I engage with literature (specifically classical literature) in ways that aren’t the average double-spaced paper, and I’m hoping that I can work with the resources from the council as well as my peers in order to figure out how I can make a significant contribution to the field of Classics through my work,” Uchimura said.

This program is an example of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s goals of (PDF) and (PDF), two of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

Encouraging students to explore and challenge the histories of sexuality and gender across multiple political and cultural contexts is the focus of a new at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. Offered for the first time in fall 2021 through the (WGSS), the certificate program is one of a few that centers on gender and sexuality issues in the Asia-Pacific region, with courses covering various disciplines.

Responding to student interests

In 2019, 73% of WGSS students surveyed indicated they were interested in a queer studies undergraduate certificate program. Core courses were introduced in fall 2020, and the program enrolled its first students this semester.

“More than anything, we wanted to respond to our students’ needs, we wanted them to feel seen in this curriculum and we wanted to help prepare them for their future careers,” said WGSS Associate Professor and Chair Lani Teves.

The 15-credit program helps prepare students for a number of fields, such as health, media, business, law, social services, education, and to work toward building a more equitable future for all people. It examines sexuality with a focus on Â鶹´«Ã½, Asia and the Pacific from a transnational, interdisciplinary and intersectional perspective.

“Students especially expressed an interest in courses that pertain to Kanaka Maoli, Oceanic and Indigenous Pacific sexualities and gender expressions in ‘traditional’ and contemporary cultural contexts,” added Teves. “We felt this would set the certificate program apart from any other in the world, as it would help UH ‘come out’ as a leader in queer studies in the entire Pacific. We already have so many scholars and students here who contribute to queer theory!”

Kiyomi Sanders is one of the first students to enroll in the certificate program this semester. A junior in physics, she said she wants to be an LGBTQ+ advocate regardless of her career or life path.

“In many fields, including physics, there is a dire need for more diversity and representation: more openly queer folks, disabled folks, gender minorities and people of color. I love that my WGSS classes so far have emphasized the importance of intersectionality and introduced me to Native Hawaiian and Indigenous feminisms,” Sanders said.

For more information or to sign up for the undergraduate certificate program, or email undergraduate advisor Kathy Ferguson.

An information session for interested students will also be held during an upcoming LGBTQ+ coffee hour, November 3, 4–5 p.m. via Zoom (Meeting ID: 8085666795, Password: LGBTQ).

This certificate program is an example of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

alumna Karen Kelsky, a prominent figure in the national #MeToo movement, returned to the Mānoa campus in October 2018, to give a presentation on sexual harassment in higher education. Kelsky, who earned her PhD in anthropology at UH Mānoa in 1996, set up a public online survey on sexual harassment in institutions of higher learning when the movement started, and the response was overwhelming, receiving about 2,500 entries in six weeks.

Kelsky has since been traveling the country, speaking out on issues of sexual assault in academia, with a focus on empowering victims and training people in leadership.

“The most important thing is constant trainings and education that is mandatory and that also involves role play,” said Kelsky in an exclusive interview with UH News, where she said role playing is key. “So that people who are are in vulnerable positions can really start to practice setting healthy boundaries and identifying problematic behaviors, when it is small, because perpetrators groom their victims.”

Kelsky is a columnist for the Chronicle of Higher Education and author of . She is the founder of , a consultancy for academics on the job market.

Her appearance on the Mānoa campus was sponsored by the UH Mānoa Better Tomorrow Speaker Series, Â鶹´«Ã½ State Commission on the Status of Women, the UH Mānoa Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, UH Office of Institutional Equity, UH Alumni Relations, UH West Oʻahu, UH Mānoa anthropology, American studies and women’s studies departments, UH Mānoa Campus Climate Committee, UH Mānoa College of Social Sciences and the UH Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law.

Professor Meda Chesney-Lind has been named President-Elect of the (ASC). Chesney-Lind, who is also chair of the in the , will serve as the 81st president of ASC. In that capacity, she will work to further expand public awareness of ASC as a significant resource for policy makers seeking new perspectives on crime and justice policy issues faced by communities.

The ASC is an international organization representing nearly 4,000 members from 63 countries. The major professional organization for criminologists in the United States, ASC members focus on the pursuit of scholarly, scientific and professional knowledge concerning the analysis, prevention, control and treatment of crime and delinquency.

“I believe the ASC can play a central role in shaping not only the future direction of research on crime, but also criminal justice policy, both in the United States and beyond. I have long been an advocate for involvement of criminologists in policy formation. Given the heightened national and global concern about crime and crime trends, our voice, grounded in the best research, is all the more necessary as these issues are discussed and debated publically,” said Chesney-Lind.

More about Chesney-Lind

Chesney-Lind received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Whitman College, and her master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. Her current research focuses on crime and justice, female delinquency, youth gangs and programs for youths at risk.

A former vice president of the American Society of Criminology and former president of the , Chesney-Lind is nationally recognized her work on women and crime. Her books include: , which was awarded the American Society of Criminology’s Michael J. Hindelang Award for outstanding contribution to criminology; and  published by Sage.

Nationally recognized for her work on women and crime, her testimony before Congress resulted in national support of gender responsive programming for girls in the juvenile justice system. Her book on girls’ use of violence, Fighting for Girls (co-edited with Nikki Jones), won an award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for “focusing America’s attention on the complex problems of the criminal and juvenile justice systems.” In 2013, the Western Society of Criminology named an award honoring “significant contributions to the field of gender, crime, and justice” for Chesney-Lind and gave her the inaugural award.

Chesney-Lind is an outspoken advocate for girls and women, particularly those who find their way into the criminal justice system. Her work on the problem of sexism in the treatment of girls in the juvenile justice system was partially responsible for the recent national attention devoted to services to girls in that system. More recently, she has worked hard to call attention to the soaring rate of women’s imprisonment and the need to vigorously seek alternatives to women⁏s incarceration.

—By Lisa Shirota

A new book, , explores the diversity of food challenges faced by the state. Edited by and of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa’s , this rich compilation of case studies by island scholars and writers includes discussions on over land use policies, a gendered and racialized farming population, benefits and costs of biotechnology, stratified access to nutritious foods, as well as ensuring the economic viability of farms. Defying the reductive approach that looks only at calories or tonnage of food produced and consumed as indicators of a sound food system, Food and Power in Â鶹´«Ã½Â shows how food problems are necessarily layered with other sociocultural and economic problems, and uses food democracy as the guiding framework.

“It is tempting to talk about problems of food and agriculture in Â鶹´«Ã½ in terms of self-sufficiency, but when we discuss it simply as a matter of volume of food, important issues like human rights and environmental impacts of food production tend to get lost. Once you set the goal as a certain percentage of self-sufficiency measured in terms of tonnage, for instance, the most logical answer would be to promote high input, large scale, monocropped farming. However, the push for local food is rooted in much richer grounds, and the book reveals those complexities. It is important to consider food issues not only in terms of satisfying the volume needs, but also in terms of human rights, environmental externalities and cultural significance,” said Kimura, an associate professor in the.

“Agriculture holds a special place in Â鶹´«Ã½, and has long been central to our economy and cultural identity, but much of our conversation on agriculture and food has been triggered by high profile controversies—such as agricultural land use, biotechnology, or food self-sufficiency—which can limit our vision on why we value agriculture. The chapters in this book discuss several phenomena related to agriculture and food and situate them in the broader political economy as a way to understand the diverse ways we engage in food democracy,” added co-editor Suryanata, an associate professor from the .

Several key points made in Food and Power in Â鶹´«Ã½ include:

• Â鶹´«Ã½ is an integral part of the global economy. Our understanding of food security must go beyond the dichotomy of locally grown versus imported food.
• Debates on food production and consumption need to pay attention to power differences along the line of race, class, gender, and citizenship that determine who can access resources necessary to produce/consume food.
• Policies that aim to protecting important agricultural lands have not reconciled the many visions for the future of Â鶹´«Ã½’s agricultural and rural lands.
• While it is important for farms to maintain economic viability, the value of agriculture in Â鶹´«Ã½ goes beyond its economic contribution as it provides opportunities for people to engage in food citizenship.
• Food related movements in Â鶹´«Ã½ that emerged in the last decade are concerned not only with quantitative increase of food produced in the state but also with its cultural, ecological, and social aspects.

—By Lisa Shirota

Ms. Aligned: Women Writing About Men attempts to represent men through works of fiction, poetry, nonfiction and art created by women. Funded by the SEED IDEAS office of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa, the anthology is edited by Pat Matsueda and Sheyene Foster Heller and features the literary and visual art of twenty women.

Contributors to Ms. Aligned include five University of Â鶹´«Ã½ graduates: Naomi Long Eagleson, Adele Ne Jame, Angela Nishimoto, Phyllis Gray Young and Matsueda. Ne Jame, Nishimoto and Young received both their undergraduate and master’s degrees at The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa. Ne Jame is a professor of English at Â鶹´«Ã½ Pacific University and Nishimoto a lecturer in botany at Leeward Community College. Young’s selection, “Joaquim,” is from her master’s thesis, a novel based in part on the research of her husband, Richard Young, professor emeritus in oceanography. Mary Archer, a senior in English at UH Mānoa, also has work in Ms.. Aligned: a suite of poems that memorialize the teaching of Robert McHenry, former UH Mānoa English professor.

Laura Lyons (former chair of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa English department and now CLLL interim dean) says of the book’s focus, “We often discuss the problems that attend male writers’ attempts to capture women and feminine consciousness, but little focus has been given when the writing takes the reverse trajectory. For this reason, I expect that this anthology will be of great use to those in women’s and gender studies, creative writing and English courses more generally. In addition, many of the pieces reveal the intersectionality of gender with race and class, so the anthology will also be of use to faculty and students in American and ethnic studies programs as well.”

Samrat Upadhyay (University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa English Ph.D., 1999) says of the book, “The poems and stories and conversations in Ms. Aligned pay homage to the complex relationships between men and women. The female perspectives presented here—male creations/female creators—dissect, prod, query, challenge, validate, negotiate, and, ultimately, emancipate the gender boundaries that we otherwise take for granted.”

Get Ms. Aligned

Ms. Aligned is available as a PDF file from for $4.99. In fall 2015, SEED IDEAS awarded the project $2,500 to cover production and editorial expenses.

For more information, please visit .