Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

Recognitions Continue for Women’s and Gender Studies Faculty Members

Wednesday, May 28, 2014, By Sarah Scalese
Share
appointmentsAwardsCollege of Arts and SciencesResearch and Creative
Vivian May

Vivian May

Good news seems to come in pairs for faculty members in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Vivian May, an associate professor who joined the College of Arts and Sciences in 2002, was elected president of the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA). Gwendolyn Pough, associate professor and chair, calls May’s latest accomplishment a “tremendous honor.” According to Pough, May has been quietly leading the NWSA behind the scenes in a variety of capacities.

The accolades for May don’t stop there. Just recently, the University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center awarded May a Social Justice Recognition Award.

“I am honored my colleagues across the nation have entrusted me to provide intellectual leadership to the organization for the next two years,” says May. “Between my colleagues here at SU and in the NWSA, I work with some of the country’s foremost women’s and gender studies scholars every day. There’s much work to be done: the NWSA is in an exciting period of expansion and growth and I am eager to begin my tenure as president. Among several other initiatives, I look forward to working with the membership to organize the 2015 and 2016 international conferences and highlighting cutting-edge feminist research across the disciplines and interdisciplines.”

May was elected to a two-year term, which begins in November 2014. NWSA Executive Director Allison Kimmich says May’s election is an exciting moment for NWSA.

“She is our first president who was trained as a women’s studies Ph.D. Vivian comes to the role as someone who has already done a great deal of thinking and writing about the field, and it will be exciting to have her bring that vision to her term as president,” Kimmich says.

A recipient of the Meredith Teaching Recognition Award, May’s articles are regularly published in top scholarly journals, including Hypatia, African American Review, Women’s Studies Quarterly and Callaloo.

An avid researcher, May’s first book, “Anna Julia Cooper, Visionary Black Feminist” (Routledge, 2007), led to her consultancy with the U.S. Postal Service on Cooper’s Black Heritage stamp. May’s second book, “In Defense of Intersectionality,” is forthcoming in 2015. Her research focuses on feminist theory and epistemology, Black feminist thought, African American literature and intersectionality.

May is among the first Ph.D.s in women’s studies in the United States. She earned a Ph.D. from Emory University, and has held faculty positions at Texas Woman’s University, Teachers College, Columbia University and William Paterson University.

May’s accomplishments come on the heels of Dana Olwan, a fellow WGS professor, being awarded a Palestinian American Research Center fellowship grant. Olwan was also the only junior faculty member selected to lead a NWSA Curriculum Institute workshop.

“The good news just keeps on coming,” says Pough, who will step down as chair at the end of June. “It’s been such a pleasure to work with this amazing group of scholars. It comes as no surprise that the NWSA membership elected Vivian to lead the vibrant organization. With her at the helm, I am confident her leadership will ensure the NWSA remains relevant, not only to those of us in the field of women’s and gender studies, but for all of us doing innovative interdisciplinary work.”

  • Author

Sarah Scalese

  • Recent
  • Q&A: Reflecting on the 80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings, Lasting Impact
    Monday, August 4, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Doctoral Candidate Wins Grant for Research on Infrastructure, Violence and Resistance in Pakistan
    Friday, August 1, 2025, By News Staff
  • Co-President of Disability Law Society Eyes Career in National Security Law in Washington
    Thursday, July 31, 2025, By Jordan Bruenger
  • Lender Center New York Event Gathers Wealth Gap Experts
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • After Tragedy, Newhouse Grad Rediscovers Her Voice Through Podcasting
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Chris Velardi

More In Health & Society

Bringing History to Life: How Larry Swiader ’89, G’93 Blends Storytelling With Emerging Technology

Instructional design program alumnus Lawrence “Larry” Swiader ’89, G’93 has built a career at the intersection of storytelling, education and technology—a path that’s taken him from the early days of analog editing as a student in the S.I. Newhouse School…

4 Maxwell Professors Named O’Hanley Faculty Scholars

The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs announced the appointment of four new O’Hanley Faculty Scholars: Brian Brege, Sarah Hamersma, Yüksel Sezgin and Ying Shi. Selected in recognition of their exceptional teaching, scholarly achievements and service to the institution,…

The Racket About Padel: Newhouse Students Partner With Global Media Firm to Track Rise of Sport

Why all the racket about Padel? Students and faculty in the Newhouse School of Public Communications collaborated with a global communications consulting firm to release a report about the emerging sport’s rapid rise in popularity. The report, “Celebrities, Community, Content,…

Fact or Fiction? The ADHD Info Dilemma

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing and most popular social media platforms in the world—especially among college-age individuals. In the United States alone, there are over 136 million TikTok users aged 18 and older, with approximately 45 million falling within…

Lab THRIVE: Advancing Student Mental Health and Resilience

Lab THRIVE, short for The Health and Resilience Interdisciplinary collaboratiVE, is making significant strides in collegiate mental health research. Launched by an interdisciplinary Syracuse University team in 2023, the lab focuses on understanding the complex factors affecting college students’ adjustment…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.