Women and Gender Studies Center records

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions on personal use.

Preferred citation:

Women and Gender Studies Center records, R0090, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
6.5 Linear Feet 7 Boxes
Creator:
George Mason University. Women's Studies Research and Resource Center
Abstract:
Seven boxes containing records pertaining to the operation and activities of both the George Mason University Women and Gender Studies Center and the Women's Studies Program.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Women and Gender Studies Center records, R0090, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The records primarily document the Womens Studies Program (WSP) and, to a lesser extent, the Women and Gender Studies Center (WGSC) from 1990-2009.

Types of materials in the collection include memoranda and correspondence pertaining to the operation and activities of WSP and WGSC from 1990 to 1997; application and renewal paperwork for affiliate faculty in WSP; fliers, pamplets, calendars and other documents detailing events sponsored by WSP and WGSC; photographs and a scrapbook containing narratives of the history of the WGSC as told by former employees and administrators in 2006.

Records are arranged in the following series:

Series 1: Administrative correspondence and memoranda

Series 2: Records pertaining to Affiliate Professors application to a membership in the Women's Studies Program (1997-2009)

Series 3: Materials documenting Women's Studies Program courses and Women and Gender Stusies Center activities and events

Series 4: Photographs of events and programs sponsored by the Women and Gender Studies Center.

Series 5: Scrapbook containing narratives of former WGS staff detailing the history of the Women and Gender Studies Center

Biographical / historical:

Conceived in 1989 as a complement to George Mason University's newly created Women's Studies Program the Women and Gender Studies Center (formerly called the Women's Studies Research and Resource Center) serves both George Mason faculty and students.

George Mason University's Women's Studies Program began during the Spring 1990 semester as an undergraduate interdisciplinary minor. Today the program offers undergraduate and graduate opportunities with concentrations in Women Studies in both the Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies and Master of Arts in Individualized Studies.

The Women's Studies Research and Resource Center opened in 1990 in a small office located on the first floor of Student Union Building I. It was tasked with provideing academic programming on women and gender-related issue, supporting faculty and student research, and promoting outreach to students. In 1994 the Center moved to the 2nd Floor of the George W. Johnson Center and remains there to this day.

While the Women's Studies Program was a unit of Mason's former College of Arts and Sciences, the Women and Gender Studies Resource Center is administered by both the College Humanities and Social Sciences and the Office of University Life.

Acquisition information:
Accessioned by Special Collections Research Center in 2011 and 2022.
Processing information:

Original collection processed in 2018 by Jimmy Loung. Additional materials processed in 2025 by Maegan Jankowski and Robert Vay.

Arrangement:

Records are arranged in the following series:

Series 1: Administrative correspondence and memoranda (1990-1997)

Series 2: Records of Affiliate Professors belonging to the Women's Studies Program (1997-2009)

Series 3: Materials documenting Women's Studies Program courses and Women and Gender Stusies Center activities and events

Series 4: Photographs of events and programs sponsored by the Women and Gender Studies Center.

Series 5: Scrapbook containing narratives of the history of the Women and Gender Studies Center as told by former employees and administrators.

Physical location:
R87, C4, S7
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Women in higher education