Gillian Lindt, 2014 December 19

Containers:

Box 2

Scope and content:

Lindt begins this interview with a discussion of her time as chair of the Columbia University Ad Hoc Committee on Women's Studies. Lindt describes the emerging questions concerning women in academia in the mid- to late-1980s at Columbia. Lindt talks about the formation of IRWGS, the procedural challenges facing the young institute, and the impact of IRWGS on Columbia's academic environment, including a new examination of the Core Curriculum. Lindt then moves into a discussion of the Breslow Committee, a panel created in 1980 to consider the implementation of co-education at Columbia. Lindt cites her experience on the Breslow Committee as one which further motivated her to advocate on behalf of women in the academy. Lindt describes the inequality evident in the classroom following the admission of women, and the silence of both Barnard and Columbia College students. Lindt discusses the dilemma of teaching versus research experienced by faculty. She also discusses issues of sexual assault at Columbia and the ways that women's studies addresses sexual violence and harassment.

Interview conducted by Mary T. Freeman.

Biographical / historical:

Gillian Lindt is a professor emeritus in the religion department at Columbia University. She taught at Columbia from 1973 until her retirement in 1998 due to macular degeneration and the onset of blindness. Lindt served as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1984 to 1989, during which time she chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Women's Studies that recommended the formation of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. Lindt also served as the dean of the School of General Studies at Columbia from 1994 to 1997, and returned to GSAS as the interim dean for a brief period in 2001. Lindt first came to Columbia as a graduate student in sociology in 1955. She earned her PhD at Columbia and won the Bancroft Dissertation Prize in 1965. After teaching at other universities including Rutgers and Howard, Lindt was recruited by the religion department at Columbia. In addition to her service as a dean, Lindt also served on the Breslow Committee in 1980, a panel that considered the question of co-education at Columbia College. Lindt wrote a minority dissenting opinion to the committee's decision to implement co-education, arguing that the university should take time to assess and prepare for the impact of admitting women.

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