Summer Writing Retreat for Graduate Students
In May 2024, the FREE Center hosted the inaugural Summer Writing Retreat for Graduate Students. The two-day event provided an opportunity for graduate students across the university to advance in their feminist research projects. Twenty-two students from a wide range of departments — including Sociology, Education, and Social Work, to name a few — participated in the event. According to a post-event survey, graduate students found the event to be a valuable use of their time, with many making significant advances in their dissertations or article projects. Given the success of the May event, the FREE Center hosted another writing retreat in August 2024.
WTF (What the Feminist) is Happening in Ohio Politics?!
On April 1, 2024, more than 50 faculty, staff, students, and community members attended the FREE Center’s inaugural event, “WTF (What the Feminist) is Happening in Ohio Politics?!" The panel discussion, moderated by Senior Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and WGSS Professor Dr. Wendy Smooth, included four experts: Maria Bruno, Executive Director, Ohioans Against Extremism (former Public Policy Director, Equality Ohio); Jessie Hill, Judge Ben C. Green Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University; Barbara Palmer, Professor of Political Science, Baldwin Wallace University; and Emily Quick Schriver, CEO, The Matriots. Read more.
Closing Reception: Abject Object: Feminism, Art & The Academy
On March 1, 2024, the FREE Center teamed up with University Libraries to host the exhibition closing event of Abject Object: Feminism, Art & The Academy. FREE Center Advisory Board Member Dr. Alison Norris kicked off the event with brief remarks about the center, its mission, and upcoming events. The FREE Center and Art and Design Librarian Courtney Hunt were then joined by artists Annelise Duque, Brianna Gluszak, Carmen Winant, Dionne Lee, Gina Osterloh, and Paloma Martinez-Cruz for a conversation in the gallery about the potential of art as a site of feminist discourse and exploration.
FREE Center Collaborative Dream Session
More than 35 feminist scholars from across the university gathered on Nov. 15, 2023, to mark the launch of the FREE Center. The “Collaborative Dream Session” kickoff event, held at the Ohio State STEAM Factory in downtown Columbus, provided an opportunity for faculty to collectively imagine how the FREE Center can best serve the campus and greater Columbus communities. Faculty from a wide range of disciplines shared current research projects and goals, exchanged ideas about how to foster collaborative feminist research, and identified potential Research and Connection Clusters. Read more about the event.