After five years as the head of the UA's Institute for LGBT Studies, Susan Stryker announced on her Facebook page today that she is leaving the position.

Perhaps one of Stryker's biggest accomplishments at the UA is the formation of the world's first-ever transgender studies degree. Most recently, Stryker had also been in talks with the UA administration and the state about how to provide inclusive health care options for transgender faculty, staff and their family members. 

In her Facebook post, Stryker says she will continue to teach gender and women's studies at the university in the future, but she will take a one-year leave of absence to continue working on a book about how gender has changed in the U.S. since the 19th century. 

I feel extremely fortunate that I have the privilege not only of being adequately compensated for doing work that I find meaningful, but of prioritizing what dimension of that work I'm most led to do at a particular moment. At this moment, I need to express more and administer less. I'm very much looking forward to the year ahead, which promises to be a refreshing mix of working from home in San Francisco where I'll get to spend more time with my sweetie and less time commuting back and forth to Tucson, some fun international travel, and some opportunities for secluded writer's retreats. 

Tags: susan stryker , ua institute for lgbt studies , tucson