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Department of Women’s and Gender Studies

Fall 2026 WGST Highlights

Dr. Deborah Billings

  • 2025 recipient of the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health (JMWH) Best Research Article Award for “The Effect of Centering Pregnancy Group Antenatal Care on Maternal, Birth, and Neonatal Outcomes Among Low-Risk Women in the Netherlands: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial”.
  • In September, she led a talk titled “Understanding Public Health in Gaza: A Story of Healthcare Erasure and Ecocide” with Lisa Falta through the Carolina Peace Resource Center.
  • Dr. Billings also served as the Master’s Committee Thesis Chair for Sergio Orihuela García, who received their Master’s in Public Health in September.
    • Thesis title: MenteTrans*: Iniciativa educativa digital para fortalecer las habilidades socioemocionales y conocimientos sobre el manejo de riesgos y daños del consumo de sustancias psicoactivas en juventudes trans en México (MenteTrans*: Digital educational initiative to strengthen socio-emotional skills and knowledge about the management of risks and harms from the use of psychoactive substances among transgender youth in Mexico

Dr. Hyunji Kwon

  • Dr. Kwon’s team (PI: Hyunji Kwon, co-PIs: Fenice Boyd and Bret Kloos) received the National Endowments for the Arts's (NEA) Research Grants in the Arts for the project titled: “The Role of a Visual Arts and Creative Writing Summer Program in Developing the Social and Emotional Characters of Urban Children: A Mixed Methods Research Study”, in the amount of $80,000. The team is currently recruiting two local artists who will co-develop and teach social emotional learning-infused arts curriculum to elementary school students attending Title I schools in Columbia, SC in Spring 2026.

Dr. Ed Madden 

  • On November 15, Dr. Madden joined USC music faculty Greg Stuart and David Kirkland Garner and USC music students for a performance of Robert Ashley's quirky experimental opera Perfect Lives.

Dr. Allison Marsh 

  • Presentations:
    • “Ladies will be Present” at the Linda Hall Library
    • “Women of the AIEE, IRE, and IEEE” at the International Congress for the History of Science & Technology in New Zealand
    • “Examining the Past: A Few of My Favorite Things” and “The Pioneering Women of Electrical Engineering” web events for the as part of IEEE History Week
    • Participated in a roundtable discussion, “Current Politics of Research” at the Society for the History of Technology annual meeting
    • “The Pioneering Women of Electrical Engineering” speaker for Alpha Chi Omega USC chapter
    • “The Electrifying World of Benjamin Franklin” at the South Carolina State Fair

McCausland College Faculty Committee Representation:

  • Dr. Dawn Campbell – Undergraduate
  • Dr. Cara Delay – Strategic Engagement
  • Tristan Johnson – Strategic Engagement
  • Dr. Ed Madden – Strategic Engagement
  • Dr. Leland Spencer – Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Finally, congratulations to our December Graduates: Faith Clarke, Emma Galluccio, Ash Leland, Kayla Pressley, and Julia Smith!


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