历史

In 1972, U of I President Ernest Hartung appointed a committee to 研究 the high attrition rate of women 学生. 关于 35 percent of 学生 were women, and their drop-out rate was 25-30 percent. The committee's scope was broadened to include other issues affecting women on campus, including the number of women in various faculty ranks, 促销活动, 薪资标准, 等. The committee did extensive work over the next year or so and published their findings (U of I's first "campus climate" report).

Those interested in the committee's work would meet weekly, and became known as the Women's Caucus. Some committee members felt frustrated that action on the various issues of inequity revealed by the campus climate report was not forthcoming, 于是形成了一个较小的团体, 妇女核心小组核心小组,这成为了行动的载体. 成员们在保密的情况下工作, 输油管道遍布校园和全州, 并且完全信任彼此. When President Hartung told the Women’s Caucus he was unable to make the changes they demanded, and that they would have to file a formal complaint against the institution, 核心小组就是这么做的, filing a complaint against the university with the Idaho Human Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in May 1973.

Rather than have the complaint go to court, President Hartung and the nine members of the Women's Caucus Core Group signed a "Conciliation Agreement" on May 8, 1974, which detailed several actions the university would take to address various issues. Some of the results of this agreement were: the hiring of an Affirmative Action Officer; an affirmative action plan; permanent funding for a director of the Women’s Center; job analysis; back pay; equal starting salaries; a High School Relations Program to implement good faith efforts to recruit and retain women 学生; a position filled by a female physician in the Student 健康 Center; and more. A supplemental appropriations request for one-third of a million dollars was made to the State Legislature for equity in women's salaries at U of I.

What had begun in 1972 with the formation of a president's committee to 研究 the high attrition rate among female 学生 at the university became the vehicle for long-lasting change affecting many aspects of the lives of women on campus.

The University of Idaho Women’s Center first opened in Fall 1972, on the ground floor of the Administration Building, across the hall from President Hartung’s office. At first, the Center had no 工作人员 and was run entirely by volunteers. It opened with second-hand furniture, posters, and rugs brought in by volunteers. For the first five years, the Center operated with volunteer 工作人员 and a part-time director. The 1974 Conciliation Agreement with the U of I Women’s Caucus mandated a full-time center with 工作人员, 包括雇佣全职, 永久的导演. 

在早年, the Center provided a space where women could gather and share ideas, 说话, 研究, 或者只是拜访朋友. The Center’s first goals were to: 1) increase the number of women attending the university; 2) decrease the drop-out rate of women; 3) develop and sponsor programs to increase awareness of the status, problems and needs of women in Idaho; 4) provide services and programs to help address the needs and concerns of women; 5) provide a clearinghouse of informational and educational resources on issues important to women; and 6) serve as a peer counseling and referral agency (U of I Magazine, 1997年秋季). 

The Center moved a number of times during its first few years, 1981年, the Center moved to its home for the next 19 years, in a building that also housed the Tutoring and 学术的援助 Center, 位于校园中心. 那座建筑在2001年被拆除了. The Women’s Center then moved briefly to the Theater 艺术 Annex, 一个小, cozy home across from the Administration Lawn. Frozen pipes and the discovery of asbestos and lead paint in Fall 2002 meant a hasty move to the current Women’s Center home in Room 109 of the Memorial Gym.

新闻letters and Photographs from the University of Idaho 女性中心 Records, 1970-2013

University of Idaho Library Digital 倡议: A 数字集合 comprised of about 500 newsletters and photographs from the U of I 女性中心. 照片描绘事件, 工作人员, 学生, and the interior of the 女性中心’s different locations on campus.