text: In 1968, the committee organized B250: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Woman’s Role in Society, a popular lecture-based class that was integral to the formation to the women’s studies program.[13] The class addressed women’s roles in scientific, literary, and political fields, hosted guest speakers, and was open to the public.[14]
  This poster features a cartoon used advertise the women’s roles in society course. Courtesy of the IU South Bend Gloria Kaufman Collection, Indiana University South Bend Archives
  A women’s studies minor was approved in 1980. However, the women’s studies program did not become official until 1989.[15] Dr. Kaufman was a natural choice as the first program director, as she had proven to be instrumental in organizing several women’s issue groups including the Women’s Center Committee, the Women’s Caucus Committee, and the Women’s Studies Committee.[16]
  In 1989 the program’s faculty grew to include 25 professors involved in research and curriculum development.[17] By the spring of 1993, 464 students had registered for women’s studies courses.[18]
  The women’s studies major finally received approval in 1999, 31 years after the first women’s studies course.[19] In 2011, the program officially changed its name to women’s and gender studies.[20]
  Students advocating for the support of the women’s studies program at IUSB. This photo was originally featured in the South Bend Tribune on December 9, 1992. Courtesy of the IU South Bend Gloria Kaufman Collection, Indiana University South Bend
  Dr. Kaufman was so integral to the program that when she announced her retirement in 1992, 15 students protested her leaving for fear that women’s studies would fall to a lower priority.[21]
  “Whoever takes over from Kaufman as director will have a tough act to follow,” said a 1992 South Bend Tribune article.[22]
  Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote this letter to Dr. Kaufman in 1993 after she sent her a copy of her book, In Stitches: A Patchwork of Feminist Humor and Satire. Courtesy of the IU South Bend Gloria Kaufman Collection, Indiana University South Bend
  While the Women’s Caucus evolved into women’s and gender studies program at IUSB, Dr. Kaufman continued to impact her students in other ways. She acted as the first faculty adviser for The Preface, IUSB’s official student newspaper.[23]
  One of Dr. Kaufman’s most consequential contributions was to the Women’s Resource Center, serving as its director beginning in 1988.[24] The Women’s Resource Center gathered data on the wellbeing of women[25] and also provided a place where female students, faculty, staff, and community members could congregate. Although this center has since been absorbed by other parts of the university, the creation of it was crucial for supporting women.[26]
  Dr. Kaufman’s own classes greatly ranged in topics, from Chaucer to the significance of quilts.[27] Students in her classes knew her for her gentle, non-combative teaching methods,.[28] Dr. Kaufman brought a philosophy of cultivating teaching excellence to IUSB, much like her friend and colleague Dr. Eileen Bender.
  “Our best teaching generally emerges when we are most ourselves, and whatever the talk in pedagogical circles, at the university we should continue to support the rich variety of teaching approaches that we have been nourishing at IUSB,” Dr. Kaufman said.[29]
  Dr. Kaufman did not separate her own political beliefs and ideals from her role as a professor and adviser. She often expressed her anti-war sentiments during her time as faculty adviser for The Preface and she related these ideas to gender relations and power structures in the pursuit of peaceful solutions.[30]
  “Feminism will persist in struggling for human dignity, for social justice, for ecological sanity, and for truly humane government,” she wrote in a Preface 1993 opinion piece on Anita Hill’s testimony accusing Supreme Court Justice nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.[31]
  She was also ready to verbally confront sexist practices in her own community. When a male editor degraded women writers and attempted to restrict “Letters to the Editor” to prevent the women from expressing their opinions, Dr. Kaufman defended them in The Preface.[32]
  Dr. Kaufman speaking on sexism in Othello, featured in The Preface around 1970-1971. Courtesy of the IU South Bend Gloria Kaufman Collection, Indiana University South Bend Archives
  As a lecturer, Dr. Kaufman addressed sexism in the classic works of authors such as Shakespeare and Socrates, commenting on their implications for female students in the classroom, while also acknowledging the importance of studying such classic writers. [33]
  Upon receiving a grant from the Indiana Humanities Council in 1990, Dr. Kaufman continued the B250 tradition of bringing high-profile women speakers to campus for the enhancement of the student experience.[34] Speakers included renowned novelist Margaret Atwood and Z Budapest, an author and activist known for her activity in the Wiccan community.[35]
  “Gloria was a leader in bringing many well recognized speakers onto campus–exposing us to new ways to view the world–sometimes strange– but always challenging,” said Dr. Barbara L. Williams, a colleague of Dr. Kaufman.[36]
  Aside from organizing lectures, Dr. Kaufman edited anthologies of feminist humor. The phrase, she explained, was not an oxymoron.[37] One of her most famous works with Mary Kay Blakely, Pulling Our Own Strings: Feminist Humor and Satire, was finished in 1980.[38] Additionally, she produced over 14 video documentaries on anthropological topics over the span of her career.[39]
  Dr. Kaufman earned numerous awards for her contributions to IUSB and to the greater South Bend community. In 1982 she was named one of the community’s Outstanding Women at the South Bend YWCA’s annual Tribute to Women.[40] In 1992, in recognition of her service to the campus, Dr. Kaufman received the most prestigious award to be given to IUSB faculty: the Eldon F. Lundquist Fellowship.[41]
  Dr. Kaufman retired in 1993, stepping down as the director of women’s studies.[42] She passed away on June 3, 2004.[43] Following her death, the Gloria Kaufman Memorial Fund was set up to continue Dr. Kaufman’s tradition of bringing women speakers to campus annually.[44]
  The IU South Bend Archives Digital Collections hosts an online exhibit about Dr. Kaufman, which includes digital copies of correspondence with Whoopi Goldberg, unpublished humorous essays, and lectures produced by Dr. Kaufman.
  “The world appears to be in worse messes than those we have all our lives lamented. Most are calamities beyond our reach. In the face of these catastrophes, join me in arrogantly pushing acts of goodness, of kindness, of creativity into the world. Look for, and create chances, to laugh rather than lament. Life has no value unless we go for JOY, and joy is contagious. I wish you more & greater joy. Now more than ever is the time to embrace what is positive. BE ARROGANTLY JOYOUS!”[45]
  Bowman, Chris. “IUSB Students Worried about Women’s Studies.” South Bend Tribune, December 9, 1992, pp. B1 and B2.
  Reynolds, Michael et al. “A National Census of Women’s and Gender Studies Programs in U.S. Institutions of Higher Education.” NORC at the University of Chicago, December 26, 2017. https://www.nwsa.org/Files/Resources/NWSA_CensusonWSProgs.pdf.
  Sulok, Nancy J. “Paying Tribute to an IUSB Pioneer in Women’s Studies.” South Bend Tribune, September 27, 2004.