A career in Women and Gender Studies?

Lacey Haggan came to Utah State University with her college books in one arm and a baby in the other.

As a single parent she worried about the probability of affording school and meeting the expectations of her professors, as well as taking care of a child.

She couldn’t have done it alone.

Haggan is one of hundreds of women who have been supported by the Department of Women and Gender studies at USU.

The Women’s Center was first founded in 1974 and then was combined with the Gender Studies Center in 2010 “to shatter the glass ceiling.”

The center is anything but a purely feminist group. It is for both men and women and has been made available to students for scholarship opportunities, grants for travel, victims of rape and domestic violence and single parents.

A current debate is occurring across the nation as critics, professors and in particular Utah senator, Howard Stephenson, have addressed the issue of “degrees to nowhere.”

And some would feel that a degree in Women and Gender Studies fits this description.

Dr. Ann Austin is the director of the WGS center and has addressed this issue on multiple occasions with those interested in getting a degree in the field.

“As a job per se, there wouldn’t be very many jobs, but it signals to your employers that you can think outside of the box and you’re interested in issues of fairness, Austin said.

Dr. Jamie Huber, a program coordinator for the WGS center received her Ph.D in Speech and Communication from Illinois. While studying for her masters she received a certificate in Women and Gender Studies.

On multiple occasions she was asked, “When will you quit studying for that dumb certificate and focus on your real career?” Huber said.

But even though most saw it as a waste of time that certificate is what got Huber, her current career at USU.

“If you’re not looking for a career in WGS, it may not do a lot for you, but it does set you apart and you could get an internship somewhere that could help you out a lot which would lead to a potential career,” Huber said.