Women and Men of Brown University records (MS.1LS.1)

Administrative history

The Women and Men of Brown University was founded as a social organization for wives of Brown University faculty. Originally intended to "promote acquaintance and fellowship and to afford opportunities for its members to meet each other socially," the social function of the organization evolved to include an emphasis on service to the University Community, newcomers, and visitors. Since its inception as Ladies of the Faculty (1924), the organization has gone through numerous name changes: Sepia Club, Post Sepia Club, the Margaret Manning Club (in honor of the wife of the first president of Brown), the Women of Brown (WOB). Eligibility for membership was historically determined by the Men's Faculty Club where early meetings were held and members were generally listed by their husbands' names. In 1935 the Ladies of the Faculty were invited by the Pembroke College Dean to meet at Alumnae Hall and thereafter rolls were determined by University Department rosters. At the annual meeting in 2005, the organization voted to include men, and at the spring 2006 meeting the membership formally changed the name to Women and Men of Brown University (WMB).