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view . fall 2010
When the seeds of the Distinguished Visitors in Women’s
Studies at UWindsor were first sown in 1996, “it was small in its
funding, small in its visibility, small in its uptake, small in every
possible way,” says Women’s Studies director Anne Forrest.
So it is with a measure of great satisfaction that, 10 years
later, she considers the program’s far-ranging impact.
In particular, Forrest is proud of the legacies that the
visitors leave behind after their short stay in Windsor. For
example, she says the program helped inspire the important
gains made to protect Ontario workers against violence and
harassment following the Lori Dupont inquest. It also served
as the launching point for a local “Women in Black” group
that takes on social justice issues.
“We’re not saying that the Distinguished Visitor did this,”
says Forrest. “We’re saying that it was the germination of
other things.”
The Distinguished Visitor program was devised to bring
visibility to the University’s Women’s Studies degree program
introduced in 1996. Generous support from local
businesswomen and philanthropists Mary Lambrose and Anne
Winterbottom put the program on sound financial footing, as
members of original Friends of Women’s Studies.
The Distinguished Visitor addresses the issue in feminist
politics that “ideas are not of very much use, or even of very
much interest, if all they do is circulate around the University,”
Forrest says. “You want ideas that are meaningful to people
in their everyday lives, whether they’ve been at university
or whether they haven’t.”
The Distinguished Visitor is a Canadian feminist activist
or scholar honoured for her life’s work and who shares it with
members of the University and wider community. The goal of
the program is to provide her with a platform to engage with
the communities on issues surrounding women’s rights and
involvement of women in society.
During their stay in Windsor in October, Distinguished
Visitors participate in Women’s Studies classes, meet
community members in large and small group settings and
deliver a keynote address at a community dinner, Windsor’s
largest annual university-community event.
Former MP Monique Bégin served as the very first
Distinguished Visitor in Women’s Studies in 2001.
Lee Lakeman, the 2006 Visitor, is known for speaking out
on the issue of violence against women.
“Lakeman enabled us to think and talk openly, publicly and
even angrily, about the issue of violence against women and,
yes, violence against women in our own community,” says
Carol Libby, a Friends of Women’s Studies member. “Indeed,
she called us to action.”
After Lakeman’s visit, the provincial government called
for an inquest into the 2005 murder of Hôtel Dieu-Grace
DISTINGUISHED
VISITOR
in
WOMEN’S STUDIES
10th Anniversary
by Paul riggi
A commiTmenT To Working WiTh And on behAlf of Women
