SUNY New Paltz Department of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies

08/13/2026

https://www.instagram.com/p/Db84S-omCwA/?igsh=MXJsc3gzdmYxdDd1Mw==

07/23/2026

Many of you no doubt have heard about the recent passing of Denise Oliver-Velez. Here is the New York Times obituary, which appeared in the print copy today: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/us/denise-oliver-velez-dead.html

Along with Anthropology, WGSS had the honor of serving as Denise's academic home at SUNY New Paltz. For sixteen years, she inspired students and faculty alike. In 2015-16, she won the LA&S Teacher of the Year Award for part-time faculty. In 2018, when she retired, we established the Denise Oliver-Velez Award for WGSS majors or minors for their work on intersectionality ("work" is holistic and includes all areas of a life). This award serves as a way to preserve the legacy of one of the great activists of the last century.

Some of you received the Denise Oliver-Velez Award as a graduating senior for your commitment to feminist of color thought and activism. I've had to do some research to make sure that I have a complete list of all recipients. As it stands, I'm missing several years. It's possible that not every year has a recipient, but I want to make sure. Please let me know if I'm missing someone and if so, who it is!

Recipients

2026 Lukas Cortes
2025 Brandley Delgado
2024 ??
2023 Carla A. Bencosme Peña
2022 ??
2021 ??
2020 Gianni Marcel
2019 Catherine Keefe-Harris
2018 ??

She became the highest-ranking female member of the Young Lords in New York, where she pressed for women’s rights, and later joined the Black Panthers.

08/18/2025

"Calls to eliminate “gender ideology,” diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and social justice at large have ramped up sharply in the U.S. over the past few months under the Trump administration. As sociologist Laurie Essig asserts, “Regimes attacking democracy know one thing: You can’t control a population that questions power.”

These claims that degrees in fields like gender studies are “useless” directly conflict with the government data collected on our graduates. This data clearly demonstrates that the education students receive in critical interdisciplinary classrooms provides them with a strong, flexible foundation to adapt to societal and economic changes.

What if we shifted the conversation about pursuing a degree in gender studies and similar interdisciplinary programs, to the proposition that they might be the antidote we all need in this moment of political instability? Far from finding their degrees “useless,” our graduates are ahead of the curve and well poised to contribute in myriad ways to building a healthier, more vibrant and just nation."

Despite political attacks, data shows graduates of cultural and gender studies programs are equipped with skills in demand in the workforce.

05/02/2025

This summer!

Submissions are open for the 2025 Criminal Q***rness Festival at National Q***r Theater.

04/28/2025

This Friday, May 2, 10-3pm in SUB 62/62! SUNY New Paltz's first Pop Culture Symposium, organized by Dr. Asilia Franklin-Phipps and co-sponsored by the Departments of Educational Studies & Leadership and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

04/28/2025

Tomorrow — Monday April 28 at 12 PM EST
Visit us at tinyurl.com/2025-ntvm-jobsearch

Looking for a job should not come with discrimination. But for many trans people, especially those impacted by the criminal legal system, it still does.

Join us for a critical conversation on navigating the job market as a person of trans experience.

What does inclusive employment truly look like? What support systems are available? And how can we push past barriers with power and purpose?

We are partnering with the Osborne Association to explore the realities and possibilities for trans job seekers today.

Featuring
Dr. Elijah Nicholas
Lead Strategy Director, National Trans Visibility March

Ali Kamerman
Program Coordinator, The Osborne Association

Monday April 28 2025
12 PM EST

Watch live: tinyurl.com/2025-ntvm-jobsearch

Because access to employment is access to dignity

04/26/2025

For those who have not yet seen:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DIwNUgDsDWz/?igsh=MXQ2dXhmMDBkeHdocg==

04/17/2025

Upcoming Q***r & Trans Art Fair happening on April 29! 50% of sales will go to local trans* organizations. DM Qomunidadnp on instagram or email at [email protected].

04/17/2025

I just made my three calls this morning to my senators and representative demanding justice and due process for Abrego Garcia. He MUST be brought back. It is 100% possible and has been done before. It is imperative that we keep this issue front and center and in the news. We must speak up and show up and demand justice.

This is also true for the other human beings who have been snatched off the street and sent to immigration detention centers or El Salvador or Venezuela.

This is about ALL of us being able to live in a country without fear of being disappeared and renditioned to a foreign jail without concern for our U.S. Constitutional and human rights. This is illegal in the U.S. and also illegal according to international law. This is about the balance of power, however imperfect, that our country is founded on. This is about our coworkers, our friends, our families, our communities. This is about saying no to the violent and hateful parts of our country and standing with all those who have fought for justice and human rights since our very beginnings--those who fought against slavery, indigeneous genocide, white supremacy, nativism, imperialism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ hate, and so on.

Many of my colleagues are terrified. Many of my students are terrified. And honestly, writing this public post, I understand the fear that pulls us toward quietude and inaction.

None of this is acceptable.

This is not who we have to be. We can do better. We must do better.



(apologies for crossposting)

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04/02/2025