UTC to celebrate Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Center for Women and Gender Equity will honor and celebrate women’s contributions to history.

“This is just a great time to talk and highlight the historical context of what does it mean to be where we are today as women and how did we get here?” said Lauren Ouwerkerk, associate director of WaGE and the Prism Center.

WaGE aims to help students find community, she said, and the center is partnering with departments around campus to promote Women’s History Month events.

“I think sometimes it is very easy to forget the journeys that we’ve been on to get these rights,” Ouwerkerk said.

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Click here for a list of Women’s History Month events

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WaGE’s biggest event of the month is their Women’s Leadership Academy, taking place the weekend of March 22-24. Ouwerkerk said the center takes 20 to 25 participants to the Ocoee (Tennessee) Retreat Center to discuss what it means to be a woman leader.

“I think this is one of the most impactful events we do every year because it’s three days at a retreat center where we’re really talking and getting into deep discussions around what does it mean to be a woman in leadership,” she said, “and what does that experience look like, why is it different, and how can we use that and learn from each other.”

The application for the retreat closes on Wednesday, March 6.

In addition to Women’s History Month programming in March, Ouwerkerk said the center always works to connect people academically and professionally. They strive to help students find internships and opportunities within Chattanooga by utilizing their community partners, she said.

One of Ouwerkerk’s favorite ways to connect students with the professional world is through the center’s yearly Coalition Advocating for Student Empowerment board, which provides five students with paid positions.

Those students also get experience coordinating various WaGE programs throughout the year, such as the Coming Out Cookout or Take Back the Night.

“We do a lot of work with those five students around what it actually means to be coordinating programs around a community in a targeted area and start from the ground up,” Ouwerkerk said.

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Women’s History Month calendar of events

Monday, March 4: Feminist Mixer, Lupton Hall Room 118, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, March 5: Barbie Screening—in collaboration with the Office of Student and Family Engagement, Lupton Hall Room 120, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, March 6: Run the World Luncheon, University Center Tennessee Room, noon, RSVP and for more information
Wednesday, March 20: Women’s Veterans Luncheon, University Center Tennessee Room, hosted by Office of Veteran and Military Affairs
Wednesday, March 20: Let’s Talk about Disability and Mental Health, University Center Room 352, 1:30 p.m., hosted by Disability Resource Center
Friday, March 22-Sunday March 24: Women’s Leadership Academy, Ocoee Retreat Center, Apply Here
Tuesday, March 26: Neurodivergence and Gender—in collaboration with the Disability Resource Center, University Center Chickamauga Room, noon
Tuesday, March 26: Love, Period, Lupton Hall Room 118, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, March 27: “I’m Not Like Other Girls, I’m Worse” Lunch Chat, Lupton Hall Room 118, 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, March 28: Love on a Leash, Lupton Hall Room 118, noon