New Leaders, Location for Carolina Women’s Center

Posted on Nov. 29, 2023

Shauna Harris has been named director of the Carolina Women’s Center, which is relocating to a standalone facility in the 200 block of West Cameron Avenue.

Since 1997, the Women’s Center, which hosts programs to empower individuals and supports programs that educate the campus on gender issues, had been housed in the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. It will now be led by Harris, current assistant dean for student affairs in the School of Education, who begins her new post Jan. 2.

Harris has worked for more than 15 years in various sectors of student affairs, including housing and residence life, women’s leadership initiatives, student leadership and engagement, advising and student recruitment. Her focus is identity development in biracial women and student development across campus. She’s active in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and serves on the state board as the professional development committee chair.

Shelley Kennedy, a violence prevention coordinator in Student Affairs and adjunct professor in the women’s and gender studies department, has been appointed assistant director of the Carolina Women’s Center.

The center’s programs include HAVEN (Helping Advocates for Ending Violence Now) workshops that train people to help survivors of sexual assault and relationship violence, an informational program for expectant mothers called What to Expect When You’re Expecting at UNC, and Women’s/Gender Week.

With new leaders and a new location, the center plans to increase campus engagement and foster closer collaboration with students, faculty and staff. Officials also hope to provide internship and work opportunities for students.

— Cameron Hayes Fardy ’23