Academic Affairs. Division Of Lifelong Learning. Women's Resource Center (University Of Maine) Records

The records mainly contain textual information created and collected by the University of Maine Women’s Resource Center, but there is also photographic material, compact discs, audio cassettes, CD-ROMs, and Floppy Disks.

The record series Girls Will Be Girls? & Girl Fighting Project Records contains various items regarding the Girls Will Be Girls? Conferences which the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) sponsored and were held on the University of Maine campus. Includes: conference packs with information regarding the organization of the conference (with annotated notes) and promotional brochures and fliers for the conferences, copies of “Girls Will Be Girls?: Aggression, Sexuality, And Body Image - A Guide for Planning Change” “Girls’ Health: An Action Plan for Maine” and “Girl’s Health: A Maine Profile”. Also includes financial information regarding the University Scholar-in- Residence Grant which WRC received from the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

The series also contains various examples of Scholar-in-Residence Lynn Mikel Brown’s research into the ways girls’ subordination within the culture affects their relationships with each other and the work of Brown’s Girl Fighting project.

The record series Task Force on the Retention of Women Faculty Records contains various items regarding the work of the Task Force which WRC Director Sharon Barker was a member of. Includes: member rosters, reports, work plans, supporting materials, faculty survey results, reference material, and details of the Committee structure.

The record series UMaine STEM Female Faculty & Students in Engineering Projects Records contains details of two separate research project. The first on STEM female faculty and the second on engineering student experiences at UMaine. Includes: lists of female STEM faculty at the University of Maine, faculty and student survey responses, and correspondence regarding the research projects.

The record series Safe Campus Records contains details of the University of Maine project that looked at preventing sexual abuse and domestic violence. The project would eventually become the responsibility of the WRC. Includes: training material and handouts for the Relationship Abuse and the WorkPlace Policy Responder Training, correspondence regarding the training, training schedules, and attendee evaluations.

Also, includes various items regarding the grant funding Safe Campus received from the National Institute of Justice, project reports, publicly material for various events, details of work done on masculinity, reference material, Safe Campus Advisory Committee and staff meeting material, and correspondence regarding the staffing of Safe Campus and its eventual closure.

The series also contains records from the Interpersonal Violence in the Workplace Policy Committee (also known as the Relationship Abuse in the Workplace Policy Development & Implementation Committee) whose task it was to draft a policy on domestic violence in the workplace for the University of Maine. Includes lists of Committee members and meeting material.

The record series Women's Resource Center Administrative Records contains records regarding the WRC Advisory Committee, Communications Committee, Trustee Committee, Membership Committee, WRC staff meetings, and Support Staff Committee. Also includes items regarding the Maine Job Council's Women's Employment Issues Committee, New England Land Grant Women, and University of Maine Strategic Planning Committee which Sharon Barker was a member of. Includes: committee rosters, meeting material, correspondence regarding planning the work of the committees, scheduling meetings, and committee appointments, and copies of committee reports.

The series also includes details of the Support Staff Committee’s Outstanding Supervisor Award & Supervisor Workshop, the Advisory Committee’s survey of UMaine Women employees, and the creation of the Classified Employees Advisory Council.

The series also includes copies of WRC annual reports, strategic plans, and details of the formation of the WRC, financial support it received and threats to that support.

The record series Women's Resource Center Historical & Biographical Records contains papers on the history of the WRC, a printout of The Maine Campus article featuring an interview with Sharon Barker discussing the importance of the defunct WRC, posters showing the timeline of the Center, details of awards director Sharon Barker received, and her retirement from the WRC. Also, contains scrapbooks with clipping regarding the work of the WRC and gender related issues on campus. Note, folders in other record series, particularly Administrative Records also outline key events in the history of the WRC, including its founding.

The record series Reference Material contains various reference material collected and curated by the WRC on a range of subjects related to its work, including class, race, women in education and employment, feminism, health, rape, sexual and physical abuse against women, and reproduction rights. Includes newsletters from various organizations that WRC were members of, magazine and newspaper clippings, facsimiles and printouts of articles, and copies of various reports. Also, includes items regarding different women organizations, the UMaine Historic Preservation Plan, and material from the New England Institute on Women and Economic Development Conference.

The record series Women's Resource Center/UMaine Programming & Communication Records mainly contains records related to WRC specific programming and projects. Note, some of WRC’s programming and projects have their own record series because of the quantity of material and to allow researchers to easily identify material on the same subject. Includes: posters, fliers, programs, contracts, correspondence regarding the organization of events, attendee lists, and session evaluations.

The record series also includes details of other UMaine department’s programming on subjects related to the WRC, for example, the New Dynamics consultant’s report looking at gender issues at UMaine.

The series also includes items concerning communicating the programming and work of the WRC. Including: mailing lists, contacts, publicity material and clippings regarding programs, WRC staff, and events, and copies of the WRC published Support Staff Newsletter and On Campus With Women which was a biannual information calendar of programs and events of interest to women.

The record series Maine Women's Fund Bangor & Aroostook Projects Records contains records regarding a grant from the Maine Women’s Fund to organize quarterly meetings of women in the Bangor Area. Includes: items regarding the grant funding, photographs, and program from grant awards ceremonies, plans and reports, clippings, newsletters, and fliers regarding events, and Bangor Advisory Committee meeting material.

The series also includes details of a Maine Women's Fund collaboration with women and girls in Aroostook County around gender equity issues.

The record series Women's Resource Center Archive & Library Projects Records contains details of projects related to archives and libraries that the WRC participated in. Includes items regarding a Library Committee looking at the alternative press women's collection which the WRC maintained with the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, lists of Fogler Library and serial subscriptions, correspondence and a prospectus regarding a proposed archival project to produce an archival index to the records of women's organizations in Central Maine project, and material from an archival workshop delivered by Pat Burdick for women’s organizations throughout Maine.

The record series President's Council on Women Records contains various items regarding the work of the Council which the WRC Director Sharon Barker was a member of. Barker also chaired the Council’s Subcommittee on the Student Environment. Includes: membership information, reports, reference material, meeting material and correspondence regarding the work of the Council, scheduling meetings, and Council appointments.

The record series Hope Festival Records contains details of the WRC’s participation in the University of Maine’s Hope Festival. Includes content from the WRC’s workshops, promotional posters for the festival, and correspondence regarding the organization of the festival.

The record series Totally Trades Conference Records contains details of the WRC’s participation in the Totally Trades Conference. Includes content from the WRC’s gender equity workshops for teachers, publicity material for the Conference, and correspondence regarding the organization of the Conference.

The record series Expanding Your Horizon Program Records contains details of the WRC program for middle school girls which included an annual event at the University of Maine. Includes: lists of presenters and attendees, publicity material, financial information, meeting material regarding the planning of the Program, feedback and evaluations of program sessions, and copies of Expanding Your Horizon planning and attendee packs.

The record series University of Maine Student Women's Association Records contains records of the SWA which was based at the WRC. Includes: clippings, meeting material, financial information, copies of posters and signup sheets for various Student Women's Association (SWA), Office of Women Programs and Services, and Women’s Center meetings and events held on campus, photographs of SWA members, and reference material on subjects of interest to the Association.

The record series United Sisters Project Records contains details of the project which was a gender equity activist group of teenage girls organized through the Women’s Resource Center. Includes material from United Sisters conferences: lists of registrants, staff, and attendees, handouts, surveys, attendee’s writings, and conference evaluations. Also, includes items regarding the administration of the Project and the planning of its conferences including planning manuals, publicity material, meeting material, contacts, budget, and expense information, grant information, and reference material. Also, includes copies of the United Sisters’ Zine publication, annual reports, and mission statement.

The record series Math 4 Maine Program Records contains details of the Math 4ME Camp, a week-long residential program combining workshops in gender equity, life skills and mathematics. Includes: application forms, publicity material, program development and planning manuals, schedules, financial information, manuals, workshop content, attendee packs and evaluations, and reference material.

The record series Theses & Student Work Records contains honors and masters’ theses and examples of students work both at the University of Maine and other academic institutions on topics related to women in STEM, rape, theatre, and topless dancing.

The record series Take Our Daughters to Work Day Records details the event which was established to provide a meaningful and productive experience for girls and their parents. Includes: examples of student artwork and planning material for the Day, including publicity material, reference material, planning notes, and correspondence regarding the organization of the event.