Later this month, long-time women’s rights advocate Kim Gandy will serve as the Five College Public Policy Initiative’s Fall 2012 Social Justice Practitioner-in-Residence. During her stay from Oct. 22 through Nov. 2, Gandy will participate in several public events throughout the Five College community.
Gandy is currently vice president and general counsel of the Feminist Majority Foundation and served as president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) from 2001 to 2009. During her presidency, she led NOW’s campaigns on issues ranging from Supreme Court nominations to the rights of women and caregivers, and from Social Security reform to ending the war in Iraq. In the legislative arena, Gandy helped draft two groundbreaking federal laws: the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which gave women the right to a jury trial in sex discrimination and harassment cases; and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
Her residency this fall marks the second of the Social Justice Practitioner-in-Residence Program. This collaborative Five College project is housed administratively at the Center for Public Policy and Administration. It was created to offer Five College students and faculty opportunities to engage with and learn from individuals who have hands-on policymaking experience. By offering occasions to interact with those who have chosen lives of service, the residency program helps students imagine careers of their own that might advance the common good.
In addition to the public events listed below, Gandy will speak at several classes and participate in some informal workshops during her residency. For a full list of Gandy’s events that are open to the public, click here.
- Monday, October 22 at 4 p.m.
Building Hope: Fighting Reproductive Injustice When our Candidates Won’t (panel discussion)
East Lecture Hall, Franklin Patterson Hall, Hampshire College
- Tuesday, October 23 at 4:30 p.m.
Feminization of Power: Running, Winning and What it Means for American Politics (lecture)
Cole Assembly Room, Converse Hall, Amherst College
- Saturday, October 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Making Connections: Violence Against Women and Reproductive Justice (symposium)
Seelye Hall, Smith College
- Tuesday, October 30 at 4:15 p.m.
Who Dissed the Women’s Treaty (And Why We Should Care): A Global Salon on International Women’s Rights
Global Studies Center, Main Level of Wright Hall, Smith College
The Five College Public Policy Initiative aims to enhance collaboration among Five College faculty and students who are interested in curricula, research and outreach related to public policy. The residency program was made possible by a generous grant from Five Colleges, Incorporated.
CPPA is the hub of interdisciplinary public policy research, teaching and engagement at UMass Amherst. Its faculty and alumni are effective policy leaders, from the local to the global levels, in addressing topics such as family and care policy, environmental issues, emerging technologies, social inequalities and governance. The CPPA program is the 2011 recipient of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration’s Social Equity Award, created to honor a public administration, affairs or policy program with a comprehensive approach to integrating social equity into its academic and practical work.