Throughout this week, the three finalists for the director of the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center will be holding open forums on campus.

Lorraine Acker was the previous director of the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center and currently Alissa Stoehr has been serving as the interim director.

“The director provides administrative leadership for the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center (MSWC). The director will establish goals, interpret policy, manage the budget, administer annual department scholarships, develop procedures regarding use of the Sloss House by more than 80 internal and external constituents and supervise staff,” according to Dean of Students Website.

“The director serves on university committees and collaborates with various areas within the university to advocate and support all students while specifically representing the interests of women students.”

A candidate evaluation form is available at https://iastate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eJaThSK2K0pi1pj

The forums are as follows:

On Monday, April 23, Cinnamon Brown will be in 136 UDCC from 2 to 3 p.m.

Cinnamon Brown is currently the assistant dean at Westminster College since July of 2017 and the Remley Women’s Center co-advisor since August of 2015 all in History.

Brown is also the coordinator of the women and gender studies program at Westminster College.

She’s a crusader for gender equality and social justice, passionate advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and certified Green Dot trainer, according to Brown’s curriculum vitae.

Brown has a bachelor’s from the University of West Alabama a master’s from University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a doctorate from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

During her time in the Remley Women’s Center as the co-adviser, Brown states that she has “redesigned the Remley Center to provide resources to our campus community about gender equality, consent, sexual assault, and self-care.”

She also created the annual Westminster Women’s Conference six years ago to celebrate Women’s History Month.

Brown is currently planning the Westminster College’s first annual Women’s Retreat “that seeks to bring faculty, staff, students, and alumni that identify as female together to learn about healthy relationships, communication, and how we can support and amplify one another was Westminster women,” according to Brown’s cover letter.

The Remley Women’s Center also hosts events such as the Vagina Monologues, Take Back the Night, and a wage-gap bake sale, which charges customers different prices for their baked goods based on their sex, race, and ethnicity to bring light to “the unequal pay for equal work.”

To learn more about Brown’s work and previous experience, her curriculum vitae and cover letter is available here.

On Thursday, April 26 Erin Meek will be in 136 UDCC from 11 a.m. to noon.

Erin Meek is currently a lecturer in the school of education at Iowa State since May of 2017.

Previously Meek was a graduate instructor in the women’s and gender studies program at Iowa State.

Meek has a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and english/writing from Drake University and a masters degree in interdisciplinary graduate studies: sociology, women’s and gender studies and religion from Iowa State

She currently teaches a variety of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, sociology and education courses at Des Moines Area Community College, Drake University and Iowa State University.

“While I strive to maintain close ties to the efforts of those working toward supporting oppressed groups in the larger community, in the last several years my efforts have been primarily focused on working with and empowering marginalized and vulnerable students at the college and university level,” according to Meek’s cover letter.

To learn more about meek’s work and previous experience, her curriculum vitae and cover letter is available here.

On Friday, April 27 Ruxandra Looft will be at 136 UDCC from 11:15 to 12:15 p.m.

Ruxandra Looft is currently an academic adviser III in the world languages and cultures department since 2015. Looft is also a faculty affiliate in the women’s and gender studies program at Iowa State since 2016.

Looft has a bachelors and masters from Bowling Green State University in German studies and a doctorate from Washington University in German and Comparative Literature with a concentration in feminist critical theory.

Looft organized an ISCORE panel in 2017 “to give voice to the immigration stories of my students and fellow faculty and staff,” according to Looft’s cover letter. She also organized a panel for the 2018 ISCORE pre-conference that “focused on supporting our undocumented students on campus”  as well as bringing in a scholar on DACA, Susana Munoz, as the 2018 ISCORE keynote speaker.

“I see the Women’s Center as a natural hub for these important conversations and programmatic innovations and I would welcome the opportunity to build on the exciting programs already in place (such as the Feminist Friday series, the workshops on the gender wage gap and negotiation strategies, and leadership styles across identities),” according to Looft’s cover letter.

To learn more about Looft’s work and previous experience, her curriculum vitae and cover letter is available here.