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The Institute for Research on Women and Gender was founded in 1987. Its first director, Carolyn Heilbrun, who served between 1987 and 1989, laid the ground work for faculty development and curricular expansion that have culminated in the current Institute’s broad program of graduate and undergraduate offerings. After Professor Heilbrun’s departure, IRWaG was chaired by Martha Howell, of the History Department. Professor Howell’s five-year tenure was followed by a two year directorship by Professor Victoria de Grazia, of History. She was succeeded by Professor Jean Howard, of English, then Rosalind Morris, of Anthropology, and thence by Lila Abu-Lughod, of Anthropolgy. The current co-directors are Marianne Hirsch and Elizabeth Povinelli.
 Since its formation, the Institute has grown steadily. It now counts more than fifty faculty among its associated community. Rotating committees oversee the curriculum and executive activities of the Institute, and help ensure that it is representative of a broad array of issues and perspectives.
At present, Institute faculty provide feminist instruction and critical pedagogy leading to an undergraduate major, concentrations of several varieties, and a graduate certification program. It also anchors a vibrant interdisciplinary community of scholars, researchers and students, and facilitates collegial exchange through three distinct public lecture series, including “Feminist Interventions,” “In the House” and “Occasional Lecturers.”
In 1998, the Institute undertook a new initiative to hire 4 senior faculty members on a cross-appointment basis with the Departments. Under this initiative, Professors Alice-Kessler Harris (History), Lila Abu-Lughod (Anthropology), Marianne Hirsch (English and Comparative Literature), and Elizabeth Povinelli (Anthropology) joined the faculty.
Providing an intellectually rigorous and socially sympathetic environment has made the Institute a center for student activity. Undergraduate thesis-writing seminars, dissertation workshops, and seminars devoted to directed readings are among a few of the activities that have involved students over the years. A Feminist Pedagogy class, directed at graduate students who intend to teach in the academy, is also offered once a year, for a single credit.
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