Transforming a Department, Transforming a Discipline

The Department of Political Science at Rutgers has a deep and sustained commitment to the principle of diversity. A diverse scholarly community is crucial to the development of cutting edge social science research, the recruitment and training of diverse graduate students, the quality of pedagogical experiences in our undergraduate classrooms and to the vibrancy and life of the University. (unanimously affirmed, May 2011) In the fall of 2009, I became the first woman chair of the political science department at Rutgers University. I entered the position on the heels of a major gender discrimination case involving all of the women in the department, who claimed salary inequities and also put forward a series of informal complaints about hostile work environment. The case had taken two years to settle and, at its conclusion, the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences suggested that the department consider electing one of the women as chair. Needless to say, the challenges before the department were quite daunting.