WGS Retiring Program Faculty

Photo Credit: Text of Congratulations and flower petals
April 15, 2020

Congratulations to our retiring Women's and Gender Studies program faculty! 

Victoria Smith, History and Ethnic Studies

Professor Smith is a nineteenth century Native American historian. Her areas of concentration concern what some have termed "marginal" Indians, as contrasted with tribal histories. Professor Smith is interested in Native Americans who were often found on the front edge of colliding cultures.

Alison G. Stewart, Art History

Stewart specializes in Northern Renaissance printed works of art on paper. Her research has centered around secular imagery of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Germany and the Netherlands, including peasant festivals, and has been supported by Fulbright and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships.

Gwendolyn Foster, English and Film Studies

Foster regularly taught courses on Women Filmmakers, Film Theory and Criticism, Postcolonial Film, Advanced Screenwriting, Film Directors, Women's Films, and Comedy Directors. Her areas of specialty include film, cultural studies, film theory, race, class and gender theory. In 2004, Dr. Foster was awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award.

Donna Woudenburg, School of Natural Resources

Woudenburg has a strong interest in meteorology and climatology, a strong interest in sociology, psychology, and anthropology, and a strong interest in interdisciplinary research. Areas of research interest include: Human Interactions with the Environment; Perception of the Drought Hazard; Social Impacts of Drought; Social Impacts of Climate Variability and Climate Change; Bridging the Gap between Science and Decision-Making; Education and Outreach; Interdisciplinary Coursework and Research; Women's, Children's & Minority Issues as related to the Environment; and Global Sustainability and Equity.

Christin Mamiya, Art History

Mamiya is an authoritative voice on contemporary art. Her book, Pop Art and Consumer Culture: American Supermarket led to invitations nationally and internationally to write and speak about artists of the later 20th century. She was also the co-author for Gardner's Art Through the Ages, an award-winning textbook that has introduced generations of students to art history and which is currently the most widely used art history textbook.

Michael James, Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design

James taught in the area of textile design and quilt studies, and his own work in the medium of quilts has been recognized and exhibited internationally. It is included in the collections of the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, the Racine Art Museum, and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, among others. He is a Fellow of the American Craft Council, and in 2009 was honored with the University of Nebraska's system-wide “Outstanding Research and Creative Activity” Award.