Megan Geneva Murray becomes OU’s new Women’s Center director

The Women’s Center at Ohio University has a new director who plans to help people understand that the work the center does affects everyone, regardless of gender.Megan Geneva Murray, who previously worked as the Women’s Center director at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for three years, said she applied for the director position because a colleague of hers was a Bobcat.“I heard wonderful things about this university and was curious enough to apply,” Murray said in an email. “When I came for my interview, I realized that he hadn't been overselling the sense of community and excitement on this campus - and was very happy to take the position when offered.”As director, Murray’s job is to oversee the Women’s Center and form new partnerships and programs for it to take part in.According to its website, the Women’s Center’s role is to “promote awareness, education, and advocacy about women, gender and diversity, among faculty, staff and students at Ohio University and its surrounding communities.Murray said she took this position to empower women and because the center allows her to work with more students than she could when she taught women’s and gender studies at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.Previously, Susanne Dietzel worked in the position for eight years before Murray accepted the job.“There are so many wonderful things that my predecessor accomplished while she was here, and there are many more things that we can do,” Murray said.Murray and her colleagues hope to encourage more people to be part of their programs and the types of work that they do.“We are going to be focusing on learning how folks connect with and utilize the women’s center so that we can tailor our programming and services to be as effective as possible,” Sarah Jenkins, program coordinator at the Women’s Center, said in an email.Murray is eager to learn what people want from her and the Women’s Center. She is prepared to respond to those needs appropriately.“Although ‘women’ is in the title of the center, I want to push people to think about how our programs impact everyone, regardless of gender - and how our educational programs serve as professional development for many of our students here on campus,” Murray said.