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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 319

Records of the National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development, 1962-1979 (inclusive), 1969-1975 (bulk)

Overview

Agendas, minutes, notes, reports, etc., of the National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development, established in 1970 to help provide an effective national response to women’s educational, occupational and related developmental needs.

Dates

  • Creation: 1962-1979
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1969-1975

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the records created by National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Records may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

2.5 linear feet ((6 file boxes) plus 1 folio folder)

The records of the National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development cover the planning, development, and demise of the organization.

Series I, Administration, contains background information, descriptions of the Coalition, and material about its organization. There are agenda, minutes, notes, reports, and the like for the planning conference in 1969, the organizing meeting in 1971, and annual and executive committee meetings, 1972-1974. Also included are reports on the status of the Coalition, 1971-1974, photographs from the 1974 annual meeting, and questionnaires about a workshop to be held in 1975.

Series II, Correspondence, is arranged in five groups: general; tax-exempt status and attorneys; requests for information; membership inquiries; and correspondence with members and foundations. The last group is arranged alphabetically, the other four chronologically. Originally, the correspondence for the first two to three years had been arranged alphabetically by officer or board member, but this had been done for the first two to three years only and included much duplication, with the bulk of the correspondence completely unsorted.

The Projects and conferences of Series III are those proposed or sponsored by the Coalition. Projects include Helen Astin's study of continuing education for women; the periodical, Comment, edited by Jo Hartley; and a 1975 proposal to incorporate the Coalition's functions in the programs of the American Council on Education. Conference material is concerned primarily with the March 1972 Wingspread Conference and includes a copy of the published report; there are also papers from a one-day conference, June 1974, on "Women's Role in the People's Republic of China -- American Perspectives."

Series IV, Financial records, contains correspondence about finances, budgets, reports, and statements. There is also information about income and expenses in relation to membership dues and grant accounts.

HISTORY

The National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development was organized in July 1970, and incorporated in 1971, to help provide a more effective national response to the educational, occupational, and related developmental needs of young and adult women. Its basic premise was that research was a means to this end. The Coalition hoped to serve as a link among institutions and individuals carrying on research pertaining to women's education and the general public.

During a pilot period of five years the Coalition was to seek support both from member institutions and from public and private granting agencies. Membership would be open to colleges and universities, and eventually to other groups and individuals. The organizational structure was to consist of a Board of Directors, a Professional Advisory Council, Representatives of Member Institutions and Agencies, and a Center staff, under two co-directors. It was to be housed in a National Center and its work carried out at the Center and at member institutions. While the Coalition sought a permanent home the Center was first housed at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Long Island under the co-directorship of Joseph Katz and Esther M. Westervelt.

With the support of the Johnson Foundation the Coalition sponsored a conference at Wingspread (Racine, Wisconsin) on March 13, 1972. The published report, Women's Higher Education: Some Unanswered Questions, helped to publicize the work of the Coalition and resulted in a tremendous increase in interest through 1974. However, funding remained inadequate and the Coalition was unable to find a permanent home at a suitable institution of higher learning; these factors contributed to the disbanding of the National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development at the end of the pilot period in 1975. Series I of the records includes a description of the Coalition, its organization, purposes, activities, and the development of its original goals.

ARRANGEMENT

The collection is arranged in four series:

  1. I. Administration. 1-26
  2. II. Correspondence. 27-117
  3. III. Projects and conferences. 118-130
  4. IV. Financial records. 131-152

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession numbers: 75-335, 77-M124 77-M127, 80-M217 84-M173

The records of the National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development were given to the Schlesinger Library in October 1975 and August 1977 by the National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development, in October 1980 by Jean O'Barr, the last president of the organization, and in September 1984 by Mary Bunting Smith.

SEPARATION RECORD

The following items have been removed from the collection and deposited into Schlesinger Library's vertical files (book collection), June 1981:

  1. Printed material and newspaper clippings

CONTAINER LIST

  1. Box 1: 1-26
  2. Box 2: 27-46
  3. Box 3: 47-70
  4. Box 4: 71-99
  5. Box 5: 100-123
  6. Box 6: 124-152

Processing Information

Processed: June 1981

By: Madeleine Bagwell Perez

Title
National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development. Records of the National Coalition for Research on Women's Education and Development, 1962-1979 (inclusive), 1969-1976 (bulk): A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
Sponsor
The collection was processed with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (RC-0051-79-1260).
EAD ID
sch00783

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

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