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Women's Center Records, 1970-2015

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon State University. Women's Center.
Title
Women's Center Records
Dates
1970-2015 (inclusive)
1972-2012 (bulk)
Quantity
13.00 cubic feet, including 150 photographs; 2.93 Gbytes, (14 boxes, including 2 oversize boxes, and 1 map folder)
Collection Number
RG 243
Summary
The Women's Center Records document the Center's roles at Oregon State University. The Women's Center serves as a resource and information clearinghouse and offers advocacy, support, and other services to women and men, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. This collection includes artifacts, scrapbooks, reports and publications, correspondence, committee records, surveys, course records, conference and workshop records, subject files, photographs, and videotapes. The Women's Center was established at Oregon State University in 1972 and today is part of the Office of Diversity and Cultural Engagement at OSU.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

The Women's Center at Oregon State University began in 1972 as a study group of Oregon State faculty led by Economics Professor Jeanne Dost. In addition to teaching a course on contemporary women's issues, the group wanted to create a place on campus for the open study and discussion of feminist issues by students and outside speakers. The new Women's Center, which was established in 1973, offered counseling, support groups, tutoring, and developmental programs to both women and men. The Center began receiving University funding in 1974 as a program of the Memorial Union and Student Activities. The Women's Center is located in the Benton Annex, a small building constructed in 1892 as the Station Building, which was slated for destruction in the early 1970s.

Directors and Supervisors of the Women's Center: Jeanne Dost (1973-1980) Nancy Vanderpool (1981-1993) Beth Rietveld (1993-2011) Whitney Archer (2014-present)

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Content Description

The Women's Center Records document the Center's educational, research, and advocacy roles at Oregon State University. This collection consists of documentation including: reports and publications, correspondence, committee records, surveys, conference and workshop materials, and subject files. Also included in the collection are scrapbooks, photographs and albums, artifacts, Women's Center publications and posters, and student-authored papers.

These records provide information on a variety of topics, including but not limited to: feminism, sexual assault prevention and awareness, equity for LGBTQ students, ethnic, cultural and racial diversity, and the campus climate. This collection documents interactions between the Women's Center and other OSU offices and organizations, including the President's Commission on the Status of Women, Faculty Women's Network; Student Affairs, Difference, Power, and Discrimination Program, and Intercultural Student Services.  The Center's administration of the Women of Achievement Awards for OSU are documented as well.

Photographs include digital files and photographic prints and negatives, which document Women's Center events including: the Clothesline Project and 'Take Back the Night'. Artifacts include guestbooks, songbooks, historic memorabilia, and teaching materials. Publications from Women's Center staff and students also feature prominently in this collection.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Women's Center Records (RG 243), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Series 1: Administration (1972-2015); Series 2: Subject Files (1972-2014); Series 3: Publications (1973-2012); Series 4: Scrapbooks (1975-2012); Series 5: Audio Visual (1988-2000); Series 6: Artifacts (1970-2005); Series 7: Photographs (1980s-2015); Series 8: Posters (Undated, c. 2000s)

Acquisition Information

The bulk of the materials were transferred from the Women's Center; the records were received in multiple accessions from 1996 through 2011. The collection was expanded with numerous additions in 2016.

Future Additions

Additions to the collection are expected.

Related Materials

Additional materials pertaining to the Women's Center are part of the President's Commission on the Status of Women Records (RG 159), Associated Students of Oregon State University (ASOSU) Records RG 011), and the OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC). The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings include many collections documenting women's roles as students, faculty, and administrators at Oregon State University, including the Associated Women Students Scrapbook (MSS AWS), Dean of Women's Office Records (RG 057), Dean of Women's Office Photographs (P 097); papers of women faculty; and records of women's organizations.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms

  • Campus-based child care--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Gay college students--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Minority college students--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Sexual harassment in universities and colleges--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Student activities--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Women--Education (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon State University--Students.
  • Oregon State University. President's Commission on the Status of Women.
  • Oregon State University. Women's Center.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Born digital.
  • Photograph albums.
  • Photographic prints.
  • Scrapbooks.
  • Sound recordings.
  • Video recordings.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Dost, Jeanne. (creator)
    • Rietveld, Elizabeth A. (creator)

Finding Aid Authors: Finding aid prepared by Karen Tockman and Aimee Hisey.
2017

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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