In 1981, the University of Virginia began to offer an interdisciplinary major in women’s studies. Seventeen years later, the name of the program was changed to Studies in Women and Gender or SWAG. Now, the program is changing its name once again to Women, Gender, and Sexuality.
Charlotte J. Patterson, professor of psychology and director of the University of Virginia’s women’s studies program, states that sexuality studies “is an area that is just exploding across disciplines. It’s natural for our program to take it up. The curriculum needs to adapt.”
Dr. Patterson joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in 1975 and has been involved the women’s studies program since its inception in 1981. She is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, California, and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University.