Monday, February 15, 2016

The University of North Carolina Wilmington has named Katherine Montwieler to serve as Director of the Women’s Studies and Resource Center, effective July 1, 2016. She will succeed Vibeke Olson, an associate professor in the Department of Art and Art History, who has filled the role on an interim basis.

Montwieler currently chairs the Department of English and is a scholar of 19^th century literature and feminist theory. She has published articles on constructions of gender, trauma and nostalgia in Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Strout and Mary Shelley; and an essay in the Los Angeles Review of Books. In addition to teaching classes in her home department, she has taught in the Honors College, the Cornerstone Learning Communities program, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and the Women’s and Gender Studies program.  In 2009 she was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Professorship and in 2011 she received a Discere Aude award, presented to outstanding professors who have supported students in a mentoring role. She has served on the Honors Council, the Women’s Studies and Resource Center Board of Directors, the Teacher Education Council and the University College Advisory Committee.

“Katherine is a great fit for this position given her background in constructions of gender, trauma and sexuality and in feminist theory,” said Dean Aswani Volety of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Her scholarship, teaching and community service in these areas add great strength to the research and support areas of WSRC.”

The Women’s Studies and Resource Center engages an interdisciplinary community of scholars, students and advocates working in gender, sexuality and women’s studies in an academic framework. The center promotes gender equality, both locally and globally, through research support, programming, an academic minor and community engagement. Finally, the center provides physical space for gathering, resources and referrals for the UNCW and Wilmington communities as it relates to center activities.

As the Director of WSRC, Montwieler will report directly to Volety, and will oversee the Women’s and Gender Studies minor and the post-baccalaureate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies, support the research and teaching of the WGS-affiliated faculty, implement educational/cultural programs that address women’s issues, develop a research agenda and research projects about women’s and gender issues, support the educational mission of the College and UNCW, and collaborate with other academic programs and units at UNCW and related regional institutions. She will mentor students on gender equity issues and community engagement, and serve as a liaison between the university and Wilmington. Montwieler will also teach one course in English per semester and will retain her faculty appointment. Volety will work with the English Department faculty to appoint an interim chair while seeking an internal candidate to serve as permanent chair.  

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