Editor’s Note: “Questions of the Week” is part of a weekly series in which Daily reporter Nina Fox interviews a prominent person in the Iowa State and Ames communities. To suggest a person to interview, submit an e-mail request to [email protected]. This week’s interview is with Pamela Thomas, director of the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center.

What do you do as director of the Women’s Center?

One of my main responsibilities is ensuring that the climate here on campus is a climate that will allow students, faculty and staff to reach their fullest potential, and making that climate affirming for women and all the possibilities that brings.

What exhibits and events does the Sloss House hold?

We use various venues to educate the campus. We have speakers, most notably Gloria Steinem for Women’s Week, and we do things that try to bring attention to various topics.

We have a lunch series called “Diversity Scholars,” and that’s the first Tuesday of every month, and we have various faculty speaking on diversity issues and issues that are important to women. We also have an educational program which is primarily graduate assistants who do programming all over campus, primarily in the residence halls, organizations, fraternities and sororities.

What are your future plans for the Women’s Center?

One of the things I’m really trying to do with the center is expand the definition of feminism. I think that’s very important.

I find it disturbing that women of traditional college age don’t necessarily like to define themselves as a “feminist.” I think primarily it’s because we have let other people define what that was for us. We either let the media or other entities define who we are, and I think that’s dangerous. And the other part of that is … that we have to have men in that definition.

Usually most people don’t connect men with the Women’s Center. What are you planning to encourage men to get involved?

What I started this year was a men’s outreach program, and I have been trying to garner some support from the men because they are a part of women’s issues. We’re really trying to get that message across, and we’re looking for men who want to do some educational programming and peer educating. We had a training last Saturday, and we did have a few men, but we’d like to see a lot more. It will take some time just for men to adjust to the Women’s Center.