March 6, 2024
Please join me in celebrating Women’s History Month and all that women have created, accomplished, and contributed to all of our lives. Sonoma State University is no exception. While our first president was not a woman, Marjorie Downing Wagner, SSU’s third president, was one of the first woman presidents of a U.S. public college or university. Women’s History Month was even birthed in Santa Rosa as Women’s History Week in the late 1970s.
Indeed, many of the women who worked at Sonoma State were (and are) trailblazers. Half of the 10 founding faculty members were women, reflecting an “ingenious egalitarianism” that founding-French department scholar Yvette Fallandy praised for making SSU “a special place.” And Dr. Fallandy was no pushover; in fact, she successfully battled executives known for censoring student speech and other administrators who were widely viewed as non-inclusive or unfair. “Unusual” for the 1970s, women were “important in [SSU’s] institutional life,” is how Professor Victor Garlin put it. In other words, women have been critical to the growth, evolution, and success of Sonoma State, and still are.
There are many Women’s History Month events as part of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’s support of the HUB that will keep the celebration and remembrance going through March. And while we value and appreciate all women, regardless of the visible impact of their lives, we also acknowledge that observances like Women’s History Month often overlap with issues of social equality and civil rights, given how we continue to fight for greater equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Just over the past month, we heard former HUD Secretary Julian Castro urge students, faculty, staff, and community members to always seek social justice. Some of us witnessed undocumented students receive encouragement and support to keep pursuing their dreams during the Reach for Your Dreams Conference. And Fei and I, along with VPSA Gerald Jones, took part in Super Sunday, the annual CSU initiative where presidents, administrators and students visit places of worship to share college-related information with congregants to advance access, opportunity, and success for Black and African American students.
Of course, we should be actively engaging and furthering these values every day of every month. As a public university, we always want to be part of the solution and a valued contributor to bringing out the best of our students and communities.
I know it can be difficult to think of better times ahead when the wind is whipping through the trees and cold rain is battering down the power lines. But remember the old saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. So we look forward to the spring, to all of the beautiful sprouting trees and plants, and to the balmier days of April.
Warmly,
Mike Lee, Ph.D.
President