Furman has just announced its 12th president, and her name is Dr. Elizabeth Davis. That’s right, a ‘her.’ While everyone is praising Furman for hiring a female and rejoicing that we have a new president, I’m waiting to find out who she is, both as an individual and as an academic leader.

I have questions like: where did she grow up? What’s her favorite TV show? Does she like sports? Will she lead us in the “FU All the Time” cheer? How does she feel about freedom of expression on campus? What about the CLP program? Sustainability? Will I see her walking around campus? Will she know students by name? I want to meet her husband. I want to know if she has an accent, a sense of humor. All these things, some admittedly very trivial, are things that I care about far more deeply than gender.

When our community so vigorously celebrates the success of a woman, we make a spectacle out of Dr. Davis, and the female gender as a whole. We suggest that since her gender coupled with her status is so worthy of praise, it must be out of the ordinary. Contrary to this idea, many women are highly successful. In fact, we don’t have to look very far to see this. Connie Carson, Vice President of Student Life, and Dr. Idella Glenn, Assistant Dean for Diversity are fantastic examples, wonderful administrators, and role models for us all. Just like Dr. Davis, their success comes from hard work and dedication; gender is irrelevant.

So be careful — next time you “hashtag girlpower” in your Facebook status, remember that you may just be doing women a disservice.