The Ethnic and Gender Studies Institute recently created at Siena Heights University promises to be a great asset to the community. Directed by the Associate Professor of English Julie Barst, the institute’s goal is to help the community to explore and talk about race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality inside and outside of the classroom.

The institute branched off from the current Ethnic and Gender Studies minor program offered at SHU.

“We had the minor for two years already, so I contacted the Dean (of College of Arts and Sciences) to talk about how to grow the program,” said Barst. During the discussion, (former dean) Mark Schersten suggested the creation of an institute. Barst added that “it was one of his last projects before he retired.” According to her, the new Dean, Matthew Draud, is being very supportive, and she will be meeting with him periodically.

When asked about the goals for the institute, Barst said the focus is to create a website and form an advisory board. Currently, the minor program has a website running, but creating a web page for the institute will help students and the community to easily locate information about getting involved and/or events that might happen.

The creation of the advisory board will be happening soon as well. She said the board will have at least one student, a faculty member, a staff member, one of the Adrian Dominican Sisters and a community member.

As of upcoming events, Barst said that the institute will be cosponsoring with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for some activities related to the Hispanic Heritage Month. She said she would like to bring a speaker or present a film to the community as well. Also, she said she plans to have meetings with organizations like Sunnyside Center for Peace & Justice, Migrant Resource Council, the NAACP and Zonta to engage the community and strengthen the institute.

For more information about the Ethnic and Gender Studies Institute at Siena Heights University, contact Barst at [email protected].