Records of the Women and Gender Advocacy Center

Collection

Identifier: UWGA

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Records of the Women and Gender Advocacy Center consists of documents dated 1908 to 1923 and 1970 to 2006. Materials dated 1908 to 1923 include women's suffrage and women's rights publications and biographical material on Florence Bennett Peterson. Materials dated 1970 to 2006 include newspaper clippings on women's rights topics, newsletters and documents generated by the center during the 1980s and 1990s, and anti-sexual assault training manuals. Of special interest are an incomplete run of the Office of Women's Programs and Studies newsletters, Sophia.

Dates

Creation: 1908-1923, 1970-2006 and undated

Creator

Women and Gender Advocacy Center (Person)

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.

History

Founded in 1970, the Women and Gender Advocacy Center at Colorado State University provides programs and resources focusing on all genders, social justice, and interpersonal violence prevention as well as advocacy and support for victims of sexual violence.

When the offices of the Dean of Women and the Dean of Men were combined into the Office of the Dean of Students in 1970, CSU administration created the Office of Women's Relations, which reported to the Office of Student Relations. Chris Kelley was selected as the first Director and served until 1972. Mary Leonard served as Director from 1972 to 1974. Karen Wedge assumed directorship of the OWR in 1974, and she oversaw a 1974 office name change to Office of Women's Programs as well as CSU's 1976 Title IX Institutional Self-Evaluation. In 1981, the Office of Women's Programs began reporting to the newly-instituted Vice President for Student Affairs.

In 1985, Women's Interdisciplinary Studies Program moved to the Office of Women's Programs, and the office title changed to Women's Program and Studies. The two programs continued in the same office until the 2009-2010 academic year, when the two were again separated. As a result, the Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research was formally established and is currently housed within Ethnic Studies.

In 2004, Jody Jessup Anger became Interim Director of the Office of Women's Programs. Chris Linder served as Director from 2005 to 2010. Dr. Kathy Sisneros served as director from 2010 to 2016, and Monica Rivera assumed the directorship in 2016. In 2011, the OWP was renamed the Women and Gender Advocacy Center, and today the center is a student service within the Student Diversity Programs and Services (SDPS)-Division of Student Affairs.

Advocacy for women students, staff, and faculty has been a central motivation for the program, which has participated in CSU's Advocacy Group (now the Student Diversity Programs and Services) since 1979. The center implemented programs, conferences, and trainings to address women's concerns, such as the Victim Assistance Team (VAT), the Survivor Support Group, the Feminist Thought & Activism Conference, and Women at Noon.

Extent

1.5 linear feet (1 record storage box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Arrangement

Contents remain arranged as found.

The collection consists of one box.

Acquisition

Records of the Women and Gender Advocacy Center was transferred from the Colorado State University Special Collections in 2015. Originally part of a 2015 donation by the Women and Gender Advocacy Center, the materials were determined to be more appropriate for archival storage.