W OMEN’S
As women in this world, we’ve got issues — and so
EW’s first Women’s Issue is born. We don’t want to
leave topics like reproductive rights, workplace equality
and representation in the media to be covered in this
March section alone; they deserve timely attention
year-round. (Call us!) Instead we have profiles of local
women on our radar. We applaud women who stand
out, love them or hate them, so here are some
conspicuous local women. — Shannon Finnell
ISSUE
Yvette Alex-Assensoh
A
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TODD COOPER
LOOKING TO EMPOWER PEOPLE
fter 18 years teaching, doing research and serving
as the dean of Indiana University’s Office for
Women’s Affairs, Dr. Yvette Alex-Assensoh was
drawn to the University of Oregon by a desire “to
open doors to people with a variety of backgrounds.”
Alex-Assensoh serves as vice president of the University
of Oregon’s Equity and Inclusion Department.
“I think the bottom line of the work that I do is about
empowering people,” she says. “And by empowering
people in the state of Oregon, we empower and enhance
the standing of this state. In turn, as we do that, we
empower America as a global entity.”
A political scientist, licensed attorney and registered fam-
ily mediator, Alex-Assensoh has had a hand in the creation of
five books, through authoring, co-authoring or editing. Her
latest book, Immigrants and American Racial Politics in the
Early 19th Century, is “about the impact of immigration in
changing the way that we engage politically in America,
especially around issues of voting and public policy.”
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March 21, 2013 • eugeneweekly.com
Intrigued by how a person’s racial background, lan-
guage, gender and class — all aspects of inclusion — led
to power, her initial studies at Indiana University were
related to the urban underclass, specifically trying to
uncover how being a social outcast and social marginaliza-
tion relate to the political world.
“If we have people living in these underclass
neighborhoods, how does that affect how they see
themselves as political actors?” she asks. To help answer
that question, she received funding from the National
Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council
and the Ford Foundation. She then surveyed white and
black underclass neighborhoods to learn how the people
inhabiting these areas behaved.
“The similarities were just amazing,” she says, “that
whites and blacks who previous researchers discussed as
really separate political animals when it came to voting, and
when it came to political attitudes, expressed themselves
and behaved similarly in the context in which they lived.”
Her work has been inspiring but that doesn’t mean it
has been all smooth sailing for her office, with a cloud of
controversy hovering over Johnson Hall. On Jan. 7,
protesters, many of whom were Native American, stood
outside voicing their displeasure regarding two related
matters: the recent dismissal of former vice presidents
Emilio Hernandez, Carla Gary and Tom Ball and not
being included in the restructuring process. The R-G
reported that the office didn’t consult with Oregon’s nine
tribes prior to making the changes, which upset much of
the Native American population. The protesters desired to
meet with Alex-Assensoh, but she was unavailable at the
time. Alex-Assensoh declined to comment on the topic.
Still, Alex-Assensoh says her ultimate goal as vice
president is to help put conflicts to rest and make all feel
welcome. “People who were warring for whatever reason
can be compelled to create a new reality where both parties
live amicably and where everyone has an opportunity to
benefit and thrive,” she says. — Nick Poust