Women's Studies Program

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2007

Collection Overview

Title:	Women's Studies Program
Date range:	1974-2000
Creator:	University of Rhode Island. Women's Studies Program
Extent:	22 box(es) (11 linear feet)
Abstract:	Contains records relating to the origin, operations, and administration of the University of Rhode Island Women's Studies Program from 1974 to 2000.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Rec. Gr. 110

Scope & content

The Women’s Studies (WMS) collection was transferred to the Archives in 2005.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into two series as follows:

• 1. Subject Files
• 2. Speakers

Historical note

The Women’s Studies (WMS) program grew out of classes taught by faculty in other departments. The first course that focused on “the lives, experiences, and culture of women” was offered in Spring of 1972 by Judith Anderson and Sharon Strom with twenty other faculty members acting as teachers, visiting lecturers, or panelists. An early product of women’s studies at URI was a bibliography of library resources, first distributed by Bernice Lott in 1977 and updated in following years.

In 1978, the core courses in Women’s Studies were approved, and the first person to declare a major in WMS graduated in 1979. In 1980, the degree was formally approved by the Board of Governors. By 1985, a full-time coordinator was appointed to the program for the first time, and a committee started meeting to discuss the possibility of developing a master’s program. However, it wasn’t until 1991 that the first tenure-track faculty member, Dana Shugar, was assigned to Women’s Studies in a joint appointment with English. (An annual spring colloquium was established in honor of Shugar, who died in 2000 after a long battle with cancer.)

During the 1980s, Mary Ellen Reilly, the Women’s Studies coordinator, focused on expanding the program by raising awareness. At the same time, she and other women on campus were involved in securing funding for a women’s center, which opened its doors in 1982. (It was originally located in the Memorial Union; it moved to its current location on Upper College Road in 2002.) In 1985, Women’s Studies courses were first offered at CCE, and in 1987, the program initiated a lecture series and an advisory council of volunteers from the community. In September of that year, the program moved from the basement to the third floor of Roosevelt Hall, and a graduate assistant and secretary were added the next year. During the 1990s, the program distinguished itself by offering film series, externships, scholarships, and an essay contest.

Two major endowments have contributed to the growth of the Women’s Studies program. In 1980, a benefactor set up a fund for the Fredrika Wild Schweers Memorial Lecture in Women’s Health, and in 1988, Eleanor Carlson set up a million dollar endowment that eventually provided an endowed chair, scholarships, lectures, and library resources. In 1996, Dr. Donna M. Hughes was appointed as the first Carlson Endowed Chair.

The following chronology is an excerpt from the old Women's Studies website:

The Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Endowed Lecture in Women's Studies

As part of her endowment given out of "a deep interest in, and a great passion for, matters which affect the status of women in our society," Eleanor M. Carlson provided a $15,000 endowment to the URI Women's Program. Income from the endowment is used to bring to the university distinguished lecturers whose scholarship is related to the field of Women's Studies.

Chronology

Date		Event
1995		Donna Lopiano. Strategies for the Future: The Win/Loss Record in Women's Sports. This inaugural lecture was delivered in conjunction with the 15th anniversary of the URI Women's Studies Program.
1996		Katha Pollitt. What's Next for Feminism?
1997		Susan Love, M.D.Women's Health: The Need to Tell the Truth. This lecture was held in conjunction with the 17th annual Frederika Wild Schweers Memorial Lecture.
1998		Kate Rushin. Culture Not Color.
1999		Le Ly Hayslip. Vietnamese Women: Voices Unheard.
2000		Mairead Corrigan Maguire. Hope for Northern Ireland and the World.

The Fredrika Wild Schweers Memorial Lecture

Each April, the Women's Studies Program presents a recognized expert in the field of women's health. The endowment was established in memory of Fredrika Wild Schweers, a sixteen-year-old woman who died after a thirteen year battle with leukemia. The don or, the late Patricia M. Farnes, M.D., also died of cancer in 1985. This lecture has become one of the most important community events sponsored by the URI Women's Studies Program.

Chronology

Date		Event
1981		Ruth Hubbard
1982		Janet Bruin - Women in the Nuclear War: Victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Speak Out
1983		Nawal El-Saadwi - Women's Health and Development in the Arab World
1984		Penny Wise Budoff - Women In Pursuit of Better Health Care
1985		Anne Fausto-Sterling - Hormonal Hurricanes - Menstruation, Menopause and Female Behavior
1986		Patty Freedson - Physical Activity and Well-Being for Women
1987		Miriam Greenspan - The Diagnosis and Treatment of Women in the Mental Health System
1988		Chris Nonvood - Women and AIDS: Advice for Life
1989		H. Patricia Hynes - Silent Spring: A Feminist Reading
1990		Irene P. Stiver - Women and Stress in the Workplace
1991		Susan Troyan - Breast Cancer: Lessons From the Past
1992		Susan Kano - Never Diet Again
1993		Gena Corea - The Invisible Epidemic: Women and AIDS
1994		Paula Caplan - How Do They Decide Who Is Normal ?
1995		Mary Harvey - Recovery and Resiliency in Sexual Abuse Survivors: Implications for Clinical and Community Intervention
1996		Mary Fisher - How Well Are We Dealing with AIDS and What Should We Be Doing to Help People With AIDS?
1997		Susan Love - Women's Health: The Need To Tell the Truth?
1998		Norma Finkelstein - Women and Substance Abuse: The Relational Connection
1999		Suzanne Arms - Giving Birth: Challenges and Choices
2000		Suraya Sadeed - Help the Afghan Children
2001		Abigail Trafford - Women as Consumers of Health
2004		Kathy Kater - Developing a Healthy Body Image in a Body Toxic Culture

The Annual Dana Shugar Women's Studies Spring Colloquium

A Series of presentations by various URI scholars on their work about women's and men's lives.

Chronology

Date		Event
1980		Host of the New England Women's Studies Association Annual Conference: Women's Studies and Women's Culture.
1981-1982
1982-1983
1984-1985
1985-1986
Spring 1987
Fall 1987
Spring 1988
Fall 1988
Spring 1989
Fall 1989
Spring 1990
Fall 1990
Spring 1991
1991-1992		Film Series: Reel Images. A film series celebrating women's diversity: The Long Walk Home, Dim Sum, Rosa Luxemburg, The Nasty Girl, Desert Hearts, A World Apart, An Angel at my Table and Thelma and Louise.
1992-1993
Spring 1994
Fall 1994
1996		Gill Perry, Women Artists and the Parisian Avant-Garde
1997
1998		Maya Angelou. Cosponsored with Student Senate and other campus organizations.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Distinctive Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Women's Studies Program, Rec. Gr. 110, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Women’s Studies Program collection was transferred to the University Archives in 2005.
Processing information:	The materials were processed 2006 by Emily Brown.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Emily Brown.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Yuan Li 2007 Nov 05, updated by Erin C. Mullen on 2012 Apr 02, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 20.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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Inventory