After 10 months without a director, the Women's Center found the perfect woman for the job.
For almost a year, the center was operated by professional staff members within the Office of Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach. Administrative and programmatic support was provided day to day, according to Katrice Albert, vice provost of Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach.
"It was important to have a robust pool of candidates that represented a knowledge of women's and gender issues and student development/affairs theory and an overall understanding of the higher education profession through both education and professional experience," Albert said of the search in an e-mail.
The search for a new director began this past fall, but none of the candidates were recommended for interviews. The second search brought three candidates to the University for interviews, according to Albert.
The search ended when Albert announced the hiring of Catherine Hopkins on June 1.
Hopkins was first approached by the University during the spring.
She said she had other options, but was "over the moon excited" when the University offered her the position.
"This was my No. 1 choice," Hopkins said.
Hopkins earned her bachelor's degree in business administration in 2003 from Saint Leo University in Florida and a master's in education in 2005 from the University of West Florida.
Before coming to LSU, Hopkins was a residence hall director at the University of Arkansas and a residence hall director and Greek advisor at West Florida.
While at Arkansas, Hopkins assisted with the coordination of Arkansas' Diversity Impact in 2006, with the goal of enhancing recruitment efforts of underrepresented populations.
Hopkins said she wants to expand the services offered by the Women's Center at LSU.
"Advocacy work and leadership programming have been done in the past, and I want to keep doing those things, as well as more community outreach and service projects," Hopkins said. "There are many big women's organizations in the community that are untapped."
She said the YWCA, the American Business Women's Association and the Women's Council of Greater Baton Rouge are just a few of the organizations she would like to work with throughout the year.
Hopkins said she would like to draw more attention to the Center by updating the Web site and getting a group of constituents together to "revamp" the strategic plan to make themselves visible.
"We do not have to do all the programming alone. We can collaborate with other departments and do a lot more," Hopkins said.
Hopkins is planning Women's Week, a community event that includes workshops, luncheons, films and classes.
Women's Week is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 21-28.
As part of her employment, Hopkins is automatically appointed to the University Council on Women and the Women's Council of Greater Baton Rouge, and will report to the Office of Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach.
"Catherine [Hopkins] brings a wealth of energy and vigor to the position including innovative ideas in the areas of programming, advancing equity on campus and coalition building," Albert said. "The combination of Catherine's educational background, practical and administrative experiences, passion for student development and gender issues made her the obvious choice for the position."
---- Contact Aimee Effler at aeffler@lsureveille.com
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