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Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs records

 Collection 0030-UA

The Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs was established by University of Maryland Chancellor Charles E. Bishop on December 3, 1973, to address the needs and concerns of women on the University of Maryland campus. Among the commission's goals were to maintain systematic contact with organizations on campus concerned with women's affairs and to identify unique problems faced by women at the university, including safety, implementation of Title IX in women's athletics, and the needs of campus working women. The commission's records include correspondence, minutes, administrative materials, commission-sponsored publications, and newsletters.

Dates

  • 1971-1988

Use and Access to Collection

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Photocopies or digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.

Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.

Archival materials may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.

Extent

1.00 Linear Feet

Scope and Content of Collection

Materials in the Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs records date from 1971 to 1988, with the years 1974 to 1984 most heavily represented. Meeting minutes and agendas, dating from August 1974 to November 1981, comprise the bulk of the collection. Subcommittee reports, discussions of actions taken, correspondence, and organizational matters are documented in the minutes. Internal memos, organizational and administrative materials, and mass mailings are also included in the collection, as is incoming and outgoing correspondence. Finally, the records contain publications sponsored or used as information sources by the Commission, as well as reports and news clippings about subjects relevant to the Commission's goals.

Organizational History

Chancellor Charles E. Bishop established the Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs on December 3, 1973, to address the needs and concerns of women on the University of Maryland, College Park, campus. The Commission, consisting of appointed faculty members, professional staff, classified staff, and graduate and undergraduate students, had the following goals:

  1. 1. To maintain systematic contact with organizations on the campus concerned with women's affairs to reduce overlap in their functions and encourage discussion among them.
  2. 2. To serve as a point of contact between the campus and external organizations concerned with women's affairs.
  3. 3. To identify unique problems faced by women on the College Park campus and propose solutions to them.

While retaining these early goals, the Commission's purpose expanded to include such issues as campus safety, implementation of Title IX in women's athletics, and meeting the needs of working women and women of color in a university environment. The Commission served as a voice for women and women's issues in the university community, advocating equality of rights and representation for all.

The Commission established subcommittees to concentrate efforts on specific issues such as personnel practices, professional growth, needs of returning women students, sexual harassment, child care, and elder care.

Among the major accomplishments of the Commission were the establishment of a day care center on campus, development and enforcement of a sexual harassment policy, and a major study of inequity in faculty salaries on campus. In addition, the Commission sought to insure that non-sexist language was used in all university publications. From 1986 to 1994, the Commission published annual reports regarding the status of women on campus.

All Commission members served in a voluntary capacity. Original members of the Commission included Dr. Virginia Beauchamp, Dr. Vivian Boyd, Dr. Richard Jaquith, and Dr. Margaret Bonz, who served as the first Chairperson. A full list of chairpersons of the commission is appended.

In 1987, the Commission changed its name to the President's Commission on Women's Affairs, and in 1996 it became the President's Commission on Women's Issues. According to a 2001 essay on the Commission's history, "The change from Chancellor to President mirrored a University evolution in language, and the change from affairs to issues resulted from a Commission decision. ‘We weren't having affairs,' explained former Commission Secretary Mary Shipley. Shipley remembered good old boys who asked, ‘Well, are you women having many affairs?'"

Today, the primary mission of the President's Commission on Women's Issues is to advocate for the interests of the entire community of women at the University of Maryland, following closely in the footsteps of the Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs.

Chairpersons of the Commission

  1. Margaret Bonz, 1973-1975
  2. Judy Sorum, 1975-1977
  3. Ann Wylie, 1977–1978
  4. Bonnie Tyler, 1978–1981
  5. Vicki Freimuth, 1981-1984
  6. Carol Pearson, 1984-1985
  7. Diana Jackson, 1985-1987
  8. Virginia Beauchamp, 1987-1990
  9. Josephine Withers, 1990-1993
  10. Maggi Bridwell, 1993-1994
  11. Javaune Adams-Gaston, 1994-1996
  12. Nancy Struna, 1996-1998
  13. Laura G. Slavin, 1998–2000
  14. Larissa Grunig, 2000–2003
  15. Laura Nichols, 2003-2005
  16. Cynthia Hale, 2005-2007
  17. Donna Wiseman, 2007-present

Arrangement

This collection is organized as three series:

Series 1
Administrative Files
Series 2
Correspondence
Series 3
Publications

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

Dr. Virginia Beauchamp donated the records of the Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs to the University of Maryland Libraries in 1987. Dr. Beauchamp donated additional materials in 1988. In 2004, Pat Johnson, Coordinator of Health Education, also donated Commission records. In 2009, Marsha Guenzler Stevens, from the Office of Campus Programs, donated additional Commission records.

Related Material

Additional materials related to the Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs can be located under the following headings in the university publications collection of the Archives and Manuscripts Department:

  1. Task Forces and Committees. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. Newsletter. UPUB T1.
  2. Task Forces and Committees. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. "Office Reporter." UPUB T1.
  3. Task Forces and Committees. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. "Choices and Challenges." UPUB T1
  4. Task Forces and Committees. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. "Personnel practices committee report on secretarial/clerical inequities, University of Maryland, College Park Campus." Prepared by Carole A. Cook. UPUB T1.080.
  5. Task Forces and Committees. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. "Status of Women Students." UPUB T1.
  6. Task Forces and Committees. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. "Women's Directory." September 1982. UPUB T1.
  7. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. Status of Women Students. UPUB T1.
  8. Task Forces and Committees. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. Returning Students Committee. Report of Committee on Returning Students of the Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. UPUB T1.061
  9. Task Forces and Committees. Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. Subcommittee on Undergraduate Women's Education. The education of women students at the University of Maryland College Park: issues and opportunities: a report of the Subcommittee on Undergraduate Women's Education, Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. UPUB T1.069
  10. The University of Maryland also hold the Records of the President's Commission on Women's Affairs (Acc. 2006-33) and the Records of the President's Commission on Women's Issues (Acc. 98-67), the successors to the Chancellor's Commission.

Processing Information

Materials were separated by document type and arranged chronologically. Exact duplicates were removed and discarded. Metal paperclips and staples were removed from items, and they were refoldered in acid-free folders and reboxed. The following accessions were incorporated into the processed collection: 1989-46; 1991-268; 2004-148; and 2009-189.

Title
Guide to the Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs records
Status
Completed
Author
Mary A. Stevanus.
Date
1988-07-01
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Library Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives

Contact:
University of Maryland Libraries
Hornbake Library
4130 Campus Drive
College Park Maryland 20742
301-405-9212