Cynthia Enloe honored for gender equality work at University of Iceland

Professor Cynthia Enloe, research professor in the International Development, Community, and Environment Department and affiliate faculty in the Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies departments, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Iceland on February 4 in recognition of her contributions to the University’s UNESCO Gender Equality Studies and Training (GEST) Program.

Enloe has been an annual visiting scholar in the GEST Program since it was established in 2010, teaching courses on both gender and peace and security. She also has given lectures on behalf of the GEST Program and its sister institutes, the Institute for Gender, Equality, and Difference (RIKK) and the EDDA Research Center, as well as at conferences organized by the GEST Program, RIKK, and EDDA.

“Professor Enloe’s contribution has been fundamental to the creation and development of the GEST Program,” said Jón Atli Benediktsson, rector of the University of Iceland. “No other instructor has received such positive feedback from students; she had a considerable impact on scholarship and grassroots activism in the field of equality both here in Iceland and in the Program’s partner countries.”

“Working with the smart, worldly feminist professors and students of the University of Iceland has been truly one of the most enjoyable and stretchy experiences of this last decade,” Enloe said upon receiving the degree.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Iceland’s president from 1980 to 1996, attended the degree ceremony, and current President Guðni Thorlacious Jóhannesson hosted a post-ceremony celebration in her honor.

Next month, Enloe will receive the International Security Studies Section (ISSS) Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Studies Association (ISA), of which a number of Clark Political Science faculty are members.

The Distinguished Scholar Award is given to ISA members who have made major contributions to the field of International Security Studies through their research, publications, and mentorship of others. The award, which comes with a plaque and $500 prize, will be presented on March 27 at the ISA Annual Convention in Honolulu.