Iowa State’s Women’s and Gender Studies program has reached a milestone.

In recognition of its 35th anniversary, women’s studies faculty and program alumnae will participate in a panel discussion on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Gallery Room of the Memorial Union.

Admittance is free and all interested are welcome to attend. The panel will discuss what makes women’s studies distinctive and how the discipline has affected the lives of women.

Panelists will include faculty members Cornelia Flora, Madeleine Henry, Kathy Hickok and Brenda Daly, and alumnae Lisa Ossian.

“All of the people on the panel have a long history with the program and are knowledgeable on women’s studies,” said Yalem Teshome, adjunct assistant professor of anthropology.

Benefits of the women’s studies panel discussion are as diverse as the subject itself.

“To know where we are, it is helpful to know where we have been,” Henry said, panelist and professor of world languages and cultures, in regards to the benefits of having a panel discussion on women’s studies.

Her interest in the program and in being a part of the panel stems from the experiences she has had as well as those of the matriarchs in her family line.

“When my grandmother came to this country, women couldn’t vote. When my mother was born, women couldn’t vote,” Henry said. “I remember when women were compelled to change their names upon marriage and couldn’t get credit in their own names. When I was an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota, then the largest university in the country, I had one female professor in my entire four years. I remember when reliable contraception was unavailable to single women. Women’s studies help us understand the advances we have made and the distance we have yet to go.”

Hickok, professor of English and women’s studies, said that the panel is a way to preserve and respect women’s studies’ history and the women who created it — faculty, students and administrators — during the past 35 years, by getting them together to talk about what happened and how.

“When you have a perspective over time to analyze and evaluate your choice and the outcomes, then you can plan much better for the future,” Hickok said.

She said they decided to ask some of the early, prominent participants in women’s studies at Iowa State to make a retrospective analysis and be a part of an event to celebrate their accomplishments and begin working toward the future.

“In March, we will start strategic planning for 21st century, and this discussion on Thursday will lay the groundwork,” Hickok said.

The Women’s and Gender Studies program has been researching and recording its history from 1972 until the present, from the first few courses offered to the current program with an undergraduate minor and major and a graduate minor. Copies of a timeline demonstrating this progress will be available at the discussion, and the original founding documents will be on display.

Various areas of interest may be covered such as the benefits Women’s and Gender Studies offer to students whether it is in their careers or personal lives.

Other possible questions include: how feminist analysis sheds light on current issues of sexuality and gender such as gay marriage, transgender identity and sexual assault, and what support a program that emphasizes critical thinking can expect from the university administration, alumnae and students? All of these questions are meant to open doors to new insights within women’s studies.