Jean Fox O'Barr (born 1942) is an American feminist teacher, scholar, and administrator whose pioneering work helped establish women’s studies as a program of academic study and support for women in higher education.

Biography

O'Barr received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University in 1964 and her master's degree (1965) and PhD (1970) in political science from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. She also earned a certificate in African Studies from Northwestern in 1970 based on her graduate work in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. O’Barr moved to North Carolina in 1969 and began teaching courses on Women and Politics at

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. O’Barr is the founding director of Duke University Women’s Studies Program and led the program for almost 20 years (1983–2001). In 2000, she was named Distinguished University Service Professor at Duke University, the first woman to be named in school history. She was appointed the Director of Continuing Education at Duke in 1971. For 12 years she directed a counseling and short course program that eventually included the Duke Institute in Retirement, the forerunner of OLLI. O'Barr has won numerous awards for teaching and mentoring. In 2010, she was awarded with one of Duke's highest awards, the University Medal for Distinguished Meritorious Service. O’Barr pioneered in building relationships with university alumnae and fostering their philanthropic work. Her home on Anderson Street was a lively center of feminist activities for students and alumnae for two decades. O’Barr played a key role in the founding of three additional programs, Duke Women’s Center, the Baldwin Scholars program and the Sallie Bingham Center in the Duke Libraries. After stepping down as Director of Women’s Studies, she taught through the Program in Education until her retirement in 2011. She currently lives in the Durham area. O'Barr has written nearly 100 articles and books, including ''Transforming Knowledge: Public Talks on Women’s Studies 1976-2011'' (2013), ''Feminism in Action: Building Community and Institutions through Women’s Studies'' (1995), ''Women Imagine Change: A Global Anthology of Women's Resistance from 600 B.C.E. to Present'' (1997; with Eugenia DeLamotte and Natania Meeke), and ''Africa in the Disciplines: Contributions of the Study of Africa to the Humanities and Social Sciences'' (1993; with Robert H. Yates and Valentin Y. Mudimbe). As editor of SIGNS she oversaw the publication of six special editions collections of journal articles. Change magazine named her among One Hundred Outstanding Young Leaders in Education in 1978, and O'Barr was selected for the Ford and Exxon Education Foundation’s study of 25 influential female leaders of the women’s movement.

Selected works

;Articles *J.F. O'Barr. "The Movement to Establish Women's Studies." Encyclopedia of Social Movements 2 (2004): 415–421. *J.F. O'Barr. "My Master List for the Millenium: Commissioned essay." SIGNS: Journal of Women in Society and Culture (special issue) 25.4 (Summer, 2000): 1205–1208. (Reprinted in Judith Howard and Carolyn Allen, eds. Feminisms at a Millenium (Chicago: University of Chicago) 2001, 202–204.) *J.F. O'Barr and Kathryn Firmin-Sellers. "African Women in Politics." African Women South of the Sahara all new chapter, revised edition (January, 1995). *J.F. O'Barr. "Making the Invisible Visible: African Women in Politics and Policy." African Studies Review 18 (1975): 19–27. *J.F. O'Barr. "Report on Changes in Tanzanian Rural Society and Their Relevance for Development Planning." Rural Africana 13 (1971): 43–49. ;Books *J.F. O'Barr. Transforming Knowledge: Public Talks on Women’s Studies 1976–2011. 2013. *J.F. O'Barr. Chapter “What Year Is It?" pp 213–222 in ''The Evolution of Women’s Studies: Reflections on Triumphs, Controversies and Change,'' Palgrave, 2008. *J.F. O'Barr. Chapter “Naming, Sharing, Speaking: Teaching in Midlife” pp 221–230 in Phyllis R. Freeman and Jan Zlotnik Schmidt ''Wise Women: Reflections of Teachers at Midlife,'' Routledge, 2000. *J.F. O'Barr with Eugenia DeLamotte and Natania Meeker. Women Imagine Change: A Global Anthology of Women's Resistance from 600 BCE to Present. New York: Routledge, 1997. *J.F. O'Barr, with Nancy Hewitt and Nanvy Rosebaugh, eds.. Talking Gender: Public Images, Personal Journeys, and Political Critiques. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, 1996. *J.F. O'Barr. Feminism in Action: Building Institutions and Community Through Women's Studies. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, 1994. *J.F. O'Barr with Robert H. Yates and Valentin Y. Mudimbe, eds.. Africa and the Disciplines: Contributions of the Study of Africa to the Humanities and Social Sciences. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1993.

Notes

External links

Duke Women's Studies Program

Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture

Guide to the Jean O'Barr Papers, 1974-2008

Founder Of Duke's Women's Studies Department Discusses Evolution Of Women's Scholarship
Interview with Frank Stasio for ''The State of Things''.
Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society

O'Barr's Profile at She Writes Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:OBarr, Jean Fox 1942 births Living people Duke University faculty American academics of women's studies Indiana University alumni Northwestern University alumni American women political scientists American political scientists American women academics 21st-century American women