Women’s and gender studies programs at U.S. universities are facing challenges and even closures in today’s political climate, and the program at Texas A&M University-San Antonio briefly experienced time on the chopping block.
Texas A&M University-College Station ended its WAGS program in January. It was the only one of the 12 A&M campuses that offered the program as a major and minor.
College Station joined other institutions across the country in the last few years that have shut down their women’s and gender studies programs or merged them into other departments. They include New College of Florida, Wichita State University, the University of Toledo, the University of California at Santa Cruz and the University of Iowa.
The programs are casualties of issues such as low enrollment, the presidential administration’s views on diversity, equity and inclusion, and an A&M system policy that prohibits faculty from advocating race and gender ideology.
The Education Department issued a press release, “Victories for Higher Education: Ending Gender Extremism and Cutting Underused Programs,” on April 9 that explains the closure of WAGS programs and others that focus on DEI. Since President Donald J. Trump took office, his administration’s goal for higher education has shifted, changing the culture of higher education.
“Today, institutions of higher education are changing the game because President Trump is bringing back America’s Golden Age,” the press release stated.
TAMUSA saves gender studies minor from elimination
Those changes have sparked worry from students, faculty and staff in the women’s and gender studies minor at A&M-San Antonio.
The WAGS minor is an interdisciplinary study that offers courses in history, English, philosophy, sociology and political science.
“It gives students an opportunity to learn about and understand the way gender operates in our society from an interdisciplinary perspective,” said Philis Barragán Goetz, program coordinator of women’s and gender studies and associate professor of history.
The WAGS minor at A&M-San Antonio was set to shut down following the closure of the WAGS program at A&M-College Station. However, A&M-San Antonio President Salvador Hector Ochoa and Mohamed Abdelrahman, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, advocated to keep the minor, according to a midsemester email from Barragán Goetz to students in the WAGS minor.
Barragán Goetz told students that a compromise was reached to keep the minor alive and available to future students.
Starting in fall 2026 the Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies course will only be available to students as an elective course and will no longer be part of core curriculum.
Barragán Goetz said she is grateful for the advocacy of the minor; her main concern now is finding ways to bring new students to the minor to keep the program’s enrollment numbers at peak. When Intro to Women’s and Genders Studies was offered as a core course, it helped to attract most of her students in the minor.
“We are currently strategizing about other ways to recruit students. … We need to maintain at least 20 students enrolled to keep from being considered a “low enrolled” minor,” Barragán Goetz said.
The WAGS minor is 25% up in enrollment this semester, with 19 students. However, the minor needs at least 20 to avoid getting cut. Barragán Goetz encourages students in the minor to get the message out and share what the minor is about with students.
Barragán Goetz said it is important for students in the minor to feel like their voices and concerns are being heard about the recent changes.
Students voice concern, show support for women’s and gender studies
Summer Chapa, a biology sophomore with a concentration in pre-health, is part of the WAGS minor and one of many students concerned with what was happening to WAGS programs around the U.S.,especially here at A&M-San Antonio.
“Once I heard the news about what happened to the College Station location, that’s when my concern kind of, definitely became more serious,” Chapa said.
Chapa said she believes the topics discussed in WAGS are important because they explore the effects of every demographic face in the world, not just women; it shines a light on the ability, classes and races of people of different demographics.
Chapa’s time in the WAGS minor so far has taught her some valuable information that has stuck with her; it was a topic on ethnic cleansing, which is the forced removal of ethnic, religious or cultural groups from an area.
Chapa provided a hypothetical example of how that could affect society: if reproductive care was limited to Hispanics in South Texas, that would be a form of ethnic cleansing because it inhibits a specific health care for a specific population.
This is something she would have never learned if it wasn’t for WAGS offering a guest speaker event with Lina-Maria Murillo who discussed her book “Fighting for Control: Power, Reproductive Care, and Race in the US-Mexico Borderlands.”
“This is something that definitely stuck with me. Murillo pointed out that ethnic cleaning has been a part of American society — and is now just becoming much more accepted and prevalent,” Chapa said.
The Feminist Advocacy & Empowerment Club is just one place where students advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. The club welcomes students of any gender to share in these discussions.
Emily Gogoy, a biology junior with a minor in biochemistry, is the president of the FAE club. She shared her concerns about the shutdown and changes of not only the WAGS programs but programs like it.
“It was a little disheartening,” Gogoy said.
Gogoy said she believes this could affect students here at campus. Students like to see positive change and actions being taken to enact change on campus and without it there would be no programs/clubs like FAE. Having programs like the WAGS lets students have that mindset to start clubs about important topics like FAE.
“Some members came from the program. …I feel like it impacted FAE a little bit, …We are two separate things, but in a way we are like together,” Gogoy said.
Having spaces on campus where students can discuss topics in WAGS whether in class or clubs make students feel open to talk and voice their opinion. Gogoy said most of the students on campus are of Hispanic culture, and not a lot of these students can talk about it at home with their families.
National organization takes a stand
Texas universities are not the only ones being affected by shutdown or change; this goes all across the country.
The National Women’s Studies Association is a nonprofit organization with the main goal of sharing knowledge in the field of women’s studies through research, teaching, service and learning. The association supports the advocacy and teachings of women, gender and sexuality.
The NWSA released a press release on April 13 with a message from its current president, Jessica N. Pabón with her reaction to the charges happening with WAGS programs around the U.S. Pabon wrote that the organization will strive to not hide in fear of threats but fight to protect WAGS in higher education.
“They interrupt our progress by pivoting our focus away from our work – work of protecting, nourishing, sustaining, and relieving ourselves and our communities, Pabón said
As of now the NWSA is prepared for the fight ahead with members gathering information from studies, articles, books and social media posts providing the information the people want. To share the importance of WAGS in higher education. While others want profit their goal has always been the protection of WAGS.
“Feminism is not in the business of accumulating financial wealth for individuals. We are and have always been, in the business of justice, equality, and liberation for all,” Pabón wrote.
The efforts to protect WAGS have gone national. On the Southside, A&M-San Antonio has students, staff and faculty fighting to keep WAGS alive for students.
For students like Chapa, WAGS goes way beyond a classroom.
“Women and gender studies is for everybody,” Chapa said. “It goes through the backgrounds of every demographic, every type of experience because humanity is not monolithic… fostering this growth of dare I say, diversity and inclusion allows students to feel seen and recognized by the universities.”
This story was updated at 10:12 a.m. May 15 to add the photo cutline and subheads.
