Tribute to Brianne Waychoff

We at the Center for the Study of Women and Society are saddened to share that our colleague, Dr. Brianne Waychoff, passed away from 9/11-related kidney cancer on Monday, July 25. She was 43. Dr. Waychoff was a brilliant professor, colleague, scholar, artist, performer, and activist, an interdisciplinary powerhouse and all-around incredible change-maker in the world.

Dr. Waychoff was an associate professor of communication and the co-coordinator of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies at the Borough of Manhattan Community College of The City University of New York (BMCC). Her B.A. was in theatre and her M.A. was in women’s and gender studies from the University of Northern Iowa. She earned a Ph.D. in communication studies with an emphasis in performance studies and a minor in women’s and gender studies from Louisiana State University. Dr. Waychoff published in a range of scholarly journals, including Text and Performance Quarterly, The Journal of Pacific Affairs, Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies. They were co-editor of Women’s Studies Quarterly with Dr. Red Washburn.

Dr. Waychoff’s commitment to gender justice was acknowledged nationally when she was invited by the White House to participate in the United State of Women Summit in 2016, celebrating the accomplishments of women and girls and making plans for the future. She opened doors for CUNY students and faculty to do feminist, LGBTQIA+, and social justice work. Even during a pandemic and with stage IV cancer, Dr. Waychoff was an intellectual rockstar. She worked so hard and with so much love for the sake of feminist scholarship, even when she was unwell and receiving care at Sloan Kettering.

We will miss Brianne, her brilliance, her light, and her commitment. Rest in power.