The May Belle Chellis Women's and Gender Studies Center is committed to promoting a greater awareness of the changing roles of women and men in both the liberal arts environment and society at large. Chellis House was established by a dedicated and enthusiastic group of Middlebury students, faculty and trustees in 1993. Named for the first woman graduate of the college (Valedictorian, Class of 1886), its mission is to provide a warm and welcoming space on campus where women and men can discuss, research and address gender issues.
It is our intention to enhance the educational experience of all Middlebury students, faculty and staff. Chellis House is able to do this by providing a home both to the academic program in Women's and Gender Studies and a variety of student and staff organizations with an interest in women's and gender issues. The Women's and Gender Studies program supports research and scholarship by developing a multidisciplinary approach to the study of gender. Chellis House provides the program with office space, a seminar room and a developing resource library on gender and women's issues, the Alison Fraker Reading Room. Students act as Chellis House monitors, with responsibilities that have typically included organizing activities, contributing to the Women's and Gender Studies Newsletter, and maintaining notice boards about women's issues on campus. The House also serves as a meeting space for diverse student, faculty and staff groups at Middlebury College. Historically, such groups have included Feminist Action at Middlebury, Middlebury Open Queer Alliance, Women of Color and Artemis. In addition, Chellis provides current resources on upcoming events on campus and in Vermont, job and internship opportunities and women's health issues.
Chellis House Coordinating Committee
The mission of Chellis House can best be fulfilled when our excellent facilities are used in an orderly and enthusiastic way by students, faculty and staff. The Chellis House Coordinating Committee is hereby instituted to better assist all of those in the college community with an interest in women's and gender issues to achieve these goals.
The Coordinating Committee exists to coordinate the large number of events taking place at Chellis House into a coherent program, to maintain a high level of enthusiasm for women's and gender issues among students, faculty and staff and to enhance communication among the many groups using the House. It is a representative body, with all members speaking for larger groups who regularly use our space.
Bylaws of the Coordinating Committee
The Coordinating Committee will be limited to no more than twelve members, of whom six will represent student organizations and another six will represent faculty and staff. This number can be amended through a majority vote of attending members, but the total number on the Committee is never to exceed sixteen. To the greatest extent possible, the committee should reflect Middlebury College in all of its diversity.
I. Student representation
1) The student members ideally will include representatives of women's and feminist organizations, gay and lesbian societies organizations for women of color and other progressive organizations working to improve human relations at Middlebury College and beyond.
2) Each student group is responsible for choosing its own representatives to the Coordinating Committee and for determining their terms of service. It is hoped that the determination of the length of term of service will take into account both the need for new ideas and the need for continuity.
3) Other student organizations with an interest in women's and gender issues may petition for a seat on the Chellis House Coordinating Committee. New seats on the Committee will be granted by a majority vote of the attending members. Because large committees become unwieldy and ineffective, membership will be restricted to a maximum of eight student representatives. Therefore, it is important to grant representation only to those organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to women's and gender issues and are most apt to advance the goals of Chellis House explicitly and with enthusiasm. Each year an invitation will be sent to student groups inviting them to submit a petition for membership on the Chellis Board. In the petition, the organization must outline how it meets the criteria for membership outlined above.
II. Faculty and Staff Representation
1) The Coordinating Committee should include representatives from both the faculty and the staff. The Coordinating Committee seats for faculty and staff must never number more than eight. Seats are distributed as follows: Chair of the Women's and Gender Studies program (1), Women's and Gender Studies faculty member (1), faculty member not teaching in the Women's and Gender Studies program (1), representative from the Office of Institutional Diversity (1) and staff members (2). If possible, at least one of these positions should be held by a woman of color.
2) Faculty and staff will be responsible for choosing their own representatives to the Coordinating Committee, taking into account both the need for fresh ideas and for continuity. New faculty or staff seats can be added to the Committee by a majority vote of the attending members, but their total number is never to exceed eight faculty/staff seats.
III. Meetings and Officers
1) The Chair of Women's and Gender Studies will call the first meeting of the Coordinating Committee during the first month of the academic year. It will subsequently meet as often as it is felt to be needed.
2) A Chair may be elected, at the discretion of the Committee.
3) The Coordinating Committee will elect a secretary. The secretary will ordinarily be the Director of Chellis House. He or she will be responsible for keeping the agenda, taking minutes of meetings and distributing them in a timely fashion.
4) The agenda for the next meeting will be outlined at the end of each meeting. Additions can be made between meetings by calling the secretary. All meetings will include time for new business, when additional issues can be raised.
IV. Amendments of Bylaws
1. These bylaws can be amended at any regular board meeting by a majority vote of attending members. Proposals to amend the bylaws must be publicized in advance of the board meeting.