ORGANIZATION
The mission of the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center is to serve students and the University as a whole by:
- Fostering the respect, safety, and dignity of women and girls
- Developing leadership and compassion through academic community engagement
- Building powerful partnerships for social change Working for gender justice on Grounds and across the globe and celebrating those who join us
SPONSORS
Abby Palko, Ph.D., Director
PURPOSE
The intern will:
- Learn about higher ed administration, specifically a small unit that sits within the Office of the Provost and provides (academic) support to students;
- They will learn about the structure of the Women's Center and how this compares with Women's and Gender Equity Centers at other colleges and universities;
- They will have the opportunity to attend team meetings and learn how decisions are made, developed, and implemented in a unit that simultaneously functions like a small non-profit while being firmly embedded within a public institution of higher education;
- They will learn about how the Women's Center serves all students in a nonpartisan way
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
This internship will prepare interns for careers in any of the following:
- Faculty
- Academic Research and Administration
- Non-profit
- Advocacy and Policy
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
This internship will provide experiences to develop and polish the following skills:
- Communication to diverse audiences
- Interdisciplinary team collaboration
- Problem-solving and analytical thinking
- Data literacy and fluency
- Project management and leadership
- Self and career management
- Thought leadership and innovation
RESPONSIBILITIES
The intern will work closely with the Women’s Center Director on the following projects in the Director's portfolio:
- To identify highly respected leaders for speaking engagements, with a particular focus on undergraduate students as the primary audience. As part of this effort, the intern will assist with the planning and execution of the annual Beverly Cobble Rodriguez lecture (https://womenscenter.virginia.edu/beverly-cobble-rodriguez-lectureship) and the Women’s Center’s MLK speaker, to build intellectual engagement within the University community and across the disciplines.
- To provide research and administrative support to the Director’s work to support women across Grounds, especially her work on the Women’s Leadership Council.
The intern can also develop and implement programming and/or conduct research around gender issues that impact doctoral students' ability to pursue their graduate work. One potential project would be research into the needs of doctoral students who have caregiving responsibilities (children, eldercare, etc.). The Director will work with the selected intern to shape a project that speaks to the intern's professional interests.
MENTORING PLAN
The interns will have the opportunity to shadow the Director as she works with her undergraduate intern(s); if desired, the intern will also have the opportunity to mentor the undergraduates. The Director will provide mentorship through weekly one-on-one meetings and facilitating access to other staff members at the Women's Center. She will offer support in navigating questions about post-graduation career decisions and the impact of the professional on the personal. She will provide support in developing and sustaining a self-care plan.
DESIRED QUALITIES
This internship is funded by an endowment; the gift language specifies: "The ideal candidate for the Greer Fellowship is an outstanding graduate student who is devoted in both intellectual and practical ways to furthering leadership development; they will have demonstrated leadership in their student life and preparation for professional life." Additionally, the successful candidate will have an interest in and some background knowledge of gender and other equity issues, approaching these topics through an intersectional lens.
DURATION AND EFFORT
The internship will occur during the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semester.
FUNDING
PhD+ interns will be paid bi-weekly wages up to $6000 per semester ($30 per hour for 200 hours per semester).