• Within the U.S. academy, leadership and support of centers and research units are usually decided through discussions with administrators, departments, and individual faculty members interested in spearheading a particular initiative and administering a program. Because these do involve issues of resources (course relief; stipends; staff support), the outcome of such negotiations are often linked to how established a center is, the seniority of a faculty member who seeks leadership, and the interest and commitment of various Deans.

• One of the sure ways to ensure longevity is to create a direct pipeline for multi-year sustained funding from one institutional source. For the University of California, this is the Office of the President. However, even if established, center directors have to bring external grant funding to sustain most of their programs. The overall evaluation and success of a center now largely depends on the grants it can secure.

• CWIC has been fortunate to receive “seed funding” from various Deans. We are particularly grateful to past and present Deans Carlos Vélez-Ibañez, Patricia O’Brien and Steve Cullenberg for their encouragement and fiscal support.

• CWIC is now poised on a springboard because of the energy and vision of colleagues both from the WMST and other departments. A critical mass of support has emerged and guidelines of leadership and governance can be established. The current Director is interested in creating a structure of governance in which the directorship can be rotated in ways that ensure that CWIC is not run only by one person. This is difficult to enact because of the scarcity of resources, individual faculty loads, status and obligations, as well as the individual-reward and negotiation modes of the university system.

• However, since collaboration is very much at the core of “coalition,” we are committed to building a simple and viable structure of governance so that CWIC can build institutional, regional, national and international visibility in a way that reflects a sense of shared partnership within its own administrative philosophies and policies. We also welcome community/regional/national and international participation in building partnership and shared governance. We would like to learn from other feminist models of research/policy and action elsewhere. Please be in touch!

• In short, a primary goal of CWIC in 2007-2008 is to build a system of governance which moves to a system of rotation in terms of leadership and consistent material support of directors taking on CWIC administration. If Directors are expected to bring in external funding, for example, they need course relief and other forms of support in order to secure this.

• The CWIC Board will also consult with the Department of Women’s Studies in order to clarify CWIC symbiotic and relatively autonomous relationship with the department.

1995-1998: Marguerite Waller (Director); Piya Chatterjee (Asst.Director)

We are grateful to the alliance, labor, and commitment of the following colleagues, staff, undergraduate and graduate students which made the 1997 Frontline Feminisms conference possible. Larisa Broyles; Gina Crivello; Marilyn Davis; Emory Elliott; Erla Martinsdottir; Marie Orillion-Harker; Ramona Pérez; Darlene Suarez, Devra Weber and many others who formed “voluntary committees” to house, drive and welcome over 150 participants to Riverside.

1998-2000: Devra Weber (Director); Piya Chatterjee (Asst. Director)

2000-2001: Amalia Cabezas (Co-Director); Piya Chatterjee (Co-Director)

2001-2005: Piya Chatterjee (Director); Advisory Board: Tracy Fisher (WMST), Manali Desai (then-Sociology, University of Kent-Canterbury), and Ellen Reese (Sociology).

In one effort to share governance, students were invited to work with the GB. Most consistently, they included Sheila Givens (Sociology/WMST); Erika Gutierrez (Sociology); Acela Ojeda (Sociology) and Elvia Ramirez (Sociology).

2006-2007: Piya Chatterjee (Director); Advisory Board: Alicia Arrizόn (Chair, WMST), Lan Duong (WMST), Tracy Fisher (WMST), Priya Srinivasan (Dance), Chikako Takeshita(WMST) and Sheila Givens (Graduate Student, Sociology).

Collaborative support and alliance work was offered by the following colleagues, staff, community and undergraduate student interns: Isabel Aguilar; Emory Elliott; Paulette Flores; Greg Givens; Alexander Givens; Thao Le; Laura Lozon; Janeth Pineda-Navarro; and Jessica Yamane.

2007-2008: Piya Chatterjee (Director); Advisory Board: Professors Lan Duong (FVC/WMST); Tracy Fisher (WMST); Sheila Givens (GS, Sociology); Tammy Ho(WMST); Kris King (WMST);  Laura Lozon, (CIS); Priya Srinivasan (Dance); Chikako Takeshita (WMST); Jane Ward (WMST); and Piya Chatterjee (WMST).