Ms. Committee of Scholars

When Feminist Majority Foundation began publishing Ms. in 2001, it established the Committee of Scholars to serve as a bridge between the magazine and the field of women’s studies. Today, a diverse group of feminist scholars spanning disciplines form the Committee, using their knowledge of new research and theories to help shape the stories told in Ms. and its strategic vision.

Co-Chairs

Carrie N. Baker, J.D., Ph.D.
Sylvia Dlugasch Bauman Professor, Program for the Study of Women and Gender, Smith College
Contributing Editor, Ms. magazine

Michele Tracy Berger, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Women’s and Gender Studies; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Chair Emeritus

Bonnie Thornton Dill, Ph.D.
Former Dean, College of Arts and Humanities, Professor, Harriet Tubman Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Maryland, College Park
Board Member, Feminist Majority Foundation
Former President, National Women’s Studies Association (2010-2012)

Committee Members

Emily Bent, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies, Pace University

Kum-Kum Bhavnani, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor and Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)

Audrey Bilger, Ph.D.
President, Reed College

Jennifer Cognard-Black, Ph.D.
Professor, English and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Brittney Cooper, Ph.D.
Professor, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Africana Studies, Rutgers University
Board Member, Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR)

Irasema Coronado, Ph.D.
Director and Professor, School of Transborder Studies, Arizona State University
Board Member, Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF)

Aviva Dove-Viebahn, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor, Film and Media Studies, Department of English, Arizona State University
Contributing Editor, Ms. Scholar Writing Program

Julie R. Enzer, Ph.D.
Scholar and Poet
Publisher and Editor, Sinister Wisdom

Kelly Finley, M.A.
Senior Lecturer and Undergraduate Advisor, Women’s and Gender Studies, University of North Carolina, Charlotte (UNCC)

Kryn Freehling-Burton, M.A.
Senior Instructor and Coordinator, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Oregon State University

Radhika Gajjala, Ph.D. 
Professor, Media and Communications and American Culture Studies, Bowling Green State University
Managing Editor, Fembot Collective

Michele Bratcher Goodwin, Ph.D.
Chancellor’s Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine (UCI)
Director, Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy
Executive Director, Ms. Studios and Host, On the Issues With Michele Goodwin podcast

Nicole Guidotti-Hernandez, Ph.D.
Professor, English, Emory University

Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Ph.D.
Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies, Chair, Comparative Women’s Studies, Founding Director, Women’s Research and Resource Center, Spelman College
Former President, National Women’s Studies Association (2008-2010)

Yalda Nafiseh Hamidi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Gender and Women’s Studies, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Janell Hobson, Ph.D.
Scholar, Writer, Educator, Critic
Professor, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, SUNY at Albany

Ileana Jimenez
Teachers College, Columbia University
English Teacher, LREI-Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School

Valerie Ann Johnson, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor, School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, Shaw University

Karon Jolna, Ph.D.
Program Director and Editor, Ms. Classroom, Ms. magazine
Mentor-Editor, The OpEd Project

Stacy K. Keltner, Ph.D.
Associate Chair of Interdisciplinary Studies, Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies, Co-Chair, WGS South Advisory Board, Kennesaw State University

L.S. Kim, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Film and Digital Media, University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)

M. Bahati Kuumba, Ph.D.
Professor, Comparative Women’s Studies, Associate Director, Women’s Research and Resource Center, Spelman College

Lisa Yun Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Art History, Public Culture and Museum Studies, and Gender and Women’s Studies
University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC)
Executive Director, National Public Housing Museum

Yi-Chun Tricia Lin, Ph.D.
Director and Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies, Southern Connecticut State University
Former President, National Women’s Studies Association (2012-2014)

Layli Mayparyan, Ph.D.
Katherine Stone Kaufmnan ‘67 Executive Director, Wellesley Centers for Women, Professor of Africana Studies, Wellesley College

C. Nicole Mason, Ph.D.
President & CEO, Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR)

Irma McClaurin, Ph.D.
CEO, McClaurin Solutions
Former President, Shaw University

Linda Perkins, Ph.D.
University Professor and Director, Applied Women’s Studies, Claremont Graduate University

Barbara Ransby, Ph.D.
Professor, Director of the Social Justice Institute, Gender and Women’s Studies, Black Studies, University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC)
Former President, National Women’s Studies Association (2016-2018)

Loretta J. Ross
Activist, Public Intellectual, Professor
Associate Professor, Program for the Study of Women and Gender, Smith College

Susan M. Shaw, Ph.D. 
Professor, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Oregon State University

Carol Stabile, Ph.D.
Acting Dean, Clark Honors College, Professor, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Oregon
Co-Founder and Advisor, Fembot Collective

Karla J. Strand, Ph.D.
Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian, University of Wisconsin System
Contributing editor, Ms. “Bookmarks” 

Nayereh Tohidi, Ph.D. 
Professor Emerita and Former Chair, Gender and Women’s Studies, Founding Director, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, California State University, Northridge (CSUN)

Patricia Trujillo, Ph.D.
Deputy Cabinet Secretary, New Mexico Higher Education Department

Gina Athena Ulysse, Ph.D.
Professor, Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)

Michelle McGibbney Vlahoulis, Ed.D.
Faculty Head and Senior Lecturer, Women and Gender Studies, Arizona State University
Contributing Editor, Ms. Classroom, Ms. magazine

Karsonya (Kaye) Wise Whitehead, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Communication and African and African American Studies, Founder and Director, Karson Institute for Race, Peace and Social Justice, Loyola University Maryland 
President, National Women’s Studies Association (2020-2022)
Radio Host, Today With Dr. Kaye on WEAA