New Release Books by Jennifer Lauren Graham

Women's centers play a critical role on college campuses. They provide education, support, leadership development, and advocacy. This multi-site case study explored the reorganization of women's centers by answering these three questions 1) through what process was the women's center reorganized, 2) how did reorganization impact the women's center, and 3) how did the women's center navigate reorganization? Using Kathleen Manning's organizational frames as the theoretical framework for this study the researcher found that 1) on each of the campuses the decision to reorganize was initially made by one or more upper-level administrators, 2) institutions and divisions use multiple organizational frames and as a result women's centers had varying amounts of input or influence into the reorganization process. Women's centers experienced a wide range of impacts including shifts in physical locations, the merging of centers, changes in staffing, and changes to budgets. The three women's centers each utilized a feminist organizing framework and this organizing principle continued as each center responded to the reorganization emphasizing transparency, open communication, and non-hierarchical decision-making. Throughout reorganization, the staff members and students served by the women's center experienced a sense of loss, fear, and fatigue. Women's center staff members spoke about both the importance of intersectionality and of navigating tensions around intersectionality, particularly on the campuses where identity-based centers were merged. Throughout each of the reorganizations, staff members of the women's centers persisted in working towards advancing women on their campuses.