Here you will find a collection of questions frequently asked in the Women's Center. If you have any questions not found here, please fill out the contact form and we will get your questions answered!

Serving the Old Dominion University community since 1976, the Women's Center offers programs and services to address the special challenges and opportunities women students encounter related to their personal and academic success. Also, recognizing the critical role that women and men play in creating a world that is free of gender bias, our goals include promoting healthy relationships and a safe and equitable environment that is free of barriers to all persons. Center services seek to empower all students to achieve their personal, academic and professional potential.

The Women's Center is located on the first floor of Webb University Center, Suite 1000, in the south wing near Health Services. The Women's Center, under the direction of Julie Dodd since 1981, is a unit in the Division of Student Services.

The Women's Center at Old Dominion University is the oldest center in the state of Virginia. Opened in 1976, our main purpose was to help women prepare to enroll and begin programs of study at ODU. Currently, we focus on women's issues and concerns, primarily on campus, and attempt to respond to the historical inequities experienced by women through our programs and services.

The ODU Women's Center provides women with resources and support as they realize their potential through programs such as the Women's Institiute for Leadership Development (W.I.L.D) and the Sexual Assault Free Environment (SAFE) Program. The Center also serves as a vital resource for activism and change through policy and procedure recommendations, resource referrals, and a student resource room. Women's Center staff members are knowledgeable in women's leadership, sexual violence, and feminist activism.

Definitely! We welcome anyone to explore our resources, use our referrals or library, and attend programs. We are designated as a Women's Center because our mission addresses the special challenges and opportunities women encounter, but we also seek to create a world that is free of gender bias and empower all students to achieve their potential. We cannot achieve this objective without men! While men are always welcome to visit our office and to attend our programs, there are special offerings designated "for women only" (W.I.L.D. or self-protection classes, for example).

The Women's Center is committed to gender equity; however, for the most part, men (particularly straight, white men) have not been discriminated against and have not had to continually fight for equal rights. History has focused primarily on the achievements and contributions of men, having largely ignored women. So, in essence, society and social, educational, political and religious institutions have served as "men's centers."

Though closely linked by our similar mission of exploring gender and women's issues, the ODU Women's Center and the Department of Women's Studies are distinctly different. The Department of Women's Studies, the oldest in Virginia, was established in 1977. It is a dynamic, academic interdisciplinary program of study at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In the fall of 1995, ODU became the first state-assisted school in Virginia to offer a major as well as a minor in Women's Studies. For more information about the Department of Women's Studies, contact the Department Chair, Dr. Anita Fellman, or visit the Women's Studies website.

The Women's Center is not an academic program. Though our staff may teach Women's Studies classes and though we offer workshops, speaker-series, and educational programs (sometimes with the Women's Studies department), we are separate from Women's Studies. Our Center is open M-F from 8 am to 5 pm, and Wednesdays from 8am-7pm. There are always helpful and friendly staff members available for whatever your concern may be.

• Come by to check out our student resource library.
• Browse the latest Ms. magazine issue.
• Talk with us about issues affecting women returning to school later in life.
• Get advice on how to balance school, work, and family.
• Talk about the role of women in changing the world.
• Stop in for advocacy and support for dealing with sexual or relationship violence

You can also visit us with questions about Women's Studies. Many of our student workers and staff have links to the department and we'd be happy to point you in the right direction. Our website has some wonderful information for those interested in gender issues, feminism, and/or violence against women -- so spend some time exploring each area of our site to see what we do.

The Women's Center is a part of the Division of Student Services, but the services, referrals, resources, and programs are open to all members of the campus community unless otherwise noted. Everyone can benefit from our services and programs. Community members have long supported our programs, particularly around Women's History Month, and can also utilize our library at no cost. Faculty and staff can access the Center for resources to help students on topics such as sexual/relationship violence, sexual harassment, and sexism. They can also request educational programs for their classes on a variety of topics related to women.

There are many things you can do to be a part of the Women's Center family:

Students:

• All students are welcome to volunteer, intern, or become a peer educator with the M-Power Program. Contact the Assistant Director, Alexa Priddy, at 683-4109 for more details.
• Women students can enroll in W.I.L.D. (a leadership institute that runs each semester for 7 weeks on Mondays from 2-4 pm). Returning women students can join Delta Sigma Lambda, a sorority for adult women students who are returning to school after a break or starting college for the first time.
• Feminist students can join the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, the student activist chapter dedicated to feminist ideals. Faculty, staff, and community members can share their expertise and experiences as presenters during awareness week/month activities or join us in our programming as audience members.

Faculty and Staff:

• Faculty and staff can get information about the University Women's Caucus.
• Talk with the SAFE coordinator about safety concerns and engage in dialogue about women's issues on campus.

Community-at-Large:

• Access our referrals and resources.
• Peruse our library shelves or read feminist magazines.
• Provide feedback about what you feel we should be doing, what we could be doing better, and/or what we are doing well.