Image: A 1998 graduate, Becky Winkler earned an AB in psychology, a minor in Mandarin, and an undergraduate certificate in Women’s Studies. She went on to earn her PhD at DePaul University. Today, she is a corporate psychologist and founder of Department 732c, a boutique management consulting firm that works with C-suite executives. She serves as a UGA Trustee and has established a fund creating an Endowed Chair in Women’s and Gender Studies. We interviewed Becky about her relationship to WGS and her generous donation. Q: What is your connection to Women’s & Gender Studies at UGA? I took my initial women’s studies class as a first year at UGA during the 1995-1996 academic period, and it changed the trajectory of my life. I’d been raised to be a feminist, but the multicultural women’s studies course taught by Dr. Johnson-Bailey exposed me to a whole new level of understanding how the system operates. She facilitated conversations among students that allowed each to share their unique lived experience. I still remember the story one of my classmates, a woman of color from rural South Georgia, shared about how she was pulled over for a broken taillight that wasn’t actually broken. I was incredibly naïve, and this class lit an eternal flame in me that I knew had to be positively channeled or it would burn me up. I ended up becoming co-president of Campus NOW, worked at the Rape Crisis Center for the rest of my time in Athens (both paid and as a volunteer), and obtained a certificate in women’s studies (given it was not yet a major). Since then, I’ve been trying to use my life to make “good trouble” in pursuit of social justice (RIP John Lewis). Q: Why did you decide to fund the Endowed Chair in Women’s and Gender Studies? It’s been a joy and a passion to follow my curiosity about what is happening on campus and learn where needs exist. Once I came to understand the challenges of being an institute vs. a department, I realized funding an endowed chair in women’s and gender studies could help from a talent recruitment perspective. Since I am an industrial-organizational psychologist, I appreciate how vital it is to recruit outstanding scholars and educators and to make it unmistakably clear that they are valued. It appeared endowing a chair would provide an evergreen fund for scholarship, teaching, and programming—as well as ensure the permanence of this critical leadership position! Q: After her retirement, the Chair will be named for Dr. Juanita Johnson-Bailey. What motivated your decision to name the chair for JJB? It’s incredibly important to honor our teachers, mentors, ancestors, and others who have influenced us on our journey. Far too often, teachers don’t comprehend the effect they have on their students. We are all in this good work together, and if we can’t let the people who have guided us know the tremendous impact they have had, then we have failed. It is an honor to be able to thank Dr. Juanita Johnson-Bailey in this way. I know I am one of so many who hold deep gratitude for her. We are so grateful for Dr. Winkler’s generous support of the Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies, and her commitment to honoring our past and fueling our future!
