VOL NO 4

COORDINATOR'S CORNER

Our February faculty profile presents Maria de los angeles Parrilla-Vazquez de Kokal, who has taught cross-listed courses for us on several occasions, including the Psychology of Women this quarter. We appreciate her enthusiasm for teaching and the valuable perspective that she provides in the classroom and we look forward to a long-term interaction with her in the Women's Studies Program.

This coming month features several activities that I want to bring to your attention specifically. The video series will fill our Thursday afternoons for the entire month with exciting educational opportunities focused on Women's Health Issues. The calendar lists titles and presenters for each week. On Thursday evening, 16 February, at 6:30 p.m., Broomstick will sponsor Dr. Angelika Pagel presenting her research on Dorothea Tanning and Max Ernst in Sedona, AZ. She has prepared a video which will be shown, and she invites audience feedback to assist her in editing the film. This will be our first of what we hope will be continuing opportunities to hear first-hand about faculty research projects. A second opportunity is scheduled for March at the Thought Continuum and featuring Dr. Judy Elsley and Ms. Priti Kumar. Details will appear in the next newsletter. This month we also are pleased that the library will house in Special Collections an exhibit of the quilts crafted by the members of Judy's "Text and Textiles" class which was offered autumn quarter. Please take advantage of the chance to sample a wide range of student creativity stimulated by the experiences in the class. Broomstick is also planning a group trip to "A Woman's Place" bookstore in Salt Lake City to hear Gloria Steinem's presentation on 1 March; to reserve a space in the van, please call Norma in the Women's Studies office at (626)7632 by 2/24.

FACULTY PROFILE

Maria de los angeles Parrilla-Vazquez de Kokal was born in Aquadilla, Puerto Rico, and as a result of being an "air force brat," has lived and attended public school in many places around the globe. An alumna of Weber State, she also holds an MS in clinical psychology and is considering a PhD&127; program in developmental psychology at the University of Utah. Prior to returning to Weber as an employee, she did youth work for a variety of agencies in the Utah community and served as a program director for Catholic Community Services in Ogden and Price. Maria has been employed at Weber for six years, in a variety of settings. She has worked as a counselor in the Multicultural Educational Resource Center and Women's Educational Resource Center. She has been an adjunct faculty member, teaching Spanish in the Foreign Language Department as well as team-teaching (with Roger Crockett, Sales and Service Technology) an experimental automotive mechanics class, designed specifically to encourage and support women interested in non-traditional careers (and "uniforms," namely jeans). Last year, she joined the Psychology Department as a visiting lecturer and continues this year as an instructor. In this capacity, she has team-taught (with Bill McVaugh) an experimental course on class, culture and gender, which was offered in a seminar format last spring and as a formal course this past autumn quarter. She and Bill are team-teaching the Psychology of Women course this quarter. These experiences team-teaching with a male colleague have had some additional benefits for the learning environment, in that they provide students with the opportunity to be in a situation modeling males and females as allies and diminishing the popular media image of "the battle of the sexes." Maria is also teaching a diversity practicum (Psych. 437) with Larry Helmbrecht this quarter and next. They are very deliberately focusing on the diversity present in our local community for student placement and for pedagogical approaches to counseling situations. She and Bill McVaugh received an instructional improvement grant last year to revamp Psych. 101 and make it more experiential, encourage critical thinking, and bring in diversity issues absent from the text. Encouraged by their success with this course, Maria has taught Child Psychology with some similar approaches; she presents the class with children's books on diverse themes to stimulate students' critical thinking and to foster their acceptance of differences. As someone who appreciates teaching and learning in diverse and cooperative environments, she has been gratified by the willingness of other faculty and staff to appear as guest lecturers and to represent their specific areas of expertise to students in her classes.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Both the Women's Studies Program and the Women's Educational Resource Center have tuition scholarships available for women over 25. Call the offices (7632 & 6090) for more information. Deadline is 1 February 1995.

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR MARCH

Don't forget the second annual conference of faculty staff, and students involved in the state-wide academic, support, or research programs focusing on women, to be held at the University of Utah on Saturday, 4 March 1995. Dr. Julia T. Wood, a researcher and writer on gender and communication and a distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, will deliver the keynote address. There will be a general discussion among members of the various programs to begin the day, and this will be followed by panel presentations on the topic of "Communication" from individuals representing specific programs. Mark your calendars and plan to attend; let us know in the Women's Studies office (-7632) if you want to plan collective transportation.

Also look for further information on the major Broomstick event of the quarter, the poetry contest and reading in honor of Lee McKenzie, to be held 8 March at the Thought Continuum.

CALENDAR

2 February- Video Series, "AIDS: Women Speak," discussant: member, Speakers' Bureau, Utah AIDS Foundation, 2 p.m. Library Special Collections.

8 February - Executive Council Meeting, 3 p.m. SS235.

9 February - Video Series, "Whisper, the Waves, The Wind," discussant: Louise Lintz, Gerontology, WSU, 2 p.m., Library

13 February - League of Women Voters, Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage, 7 p.m. Weber Co. Library Auditorium.

14 February - HAPPY VALENTINES

15 February - Thought Continuum 6:30 -8:30 Neila Seshachari & Robert&127; Hogge

16 February - Video Series, "Approaching the 14th Moon," discussant: S.Carol Theisen, HPER, WSU, 2 p.m., Library Special Collections.

16 February - Broomstick presents Dr. Angelika Pagel, 6:30 p.m. Sage Room

16 February - "El Lenguaje Que Nos Une" Reading and Discussion Series, 7:00 p.m. Chapman Branch Library, 577 S 900 W SLC, with speaker Dr. Eduardo Elias from U.of U. discussing Pilgrims in Aztlan by Miguel Mendez.

20 February - HOLIDAY

22 February - Thought Continuum 6:30-8:30 Mary Rosa Moraga & Katherine Coles

23 February - Video Series, "Teenage Mothers: A Global Crises," discussant: LeAnne Parker, Nursing, WSU, 2 p.m. Library Special Collections.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE STAFF AT THE WOMEN'S RECOVERY CENTER!!!!