Records of the Women's Studies Program date from 1972 to 1999 and trace the establishment, organization, development, and administration of first a Women's Studies curriculum and later the Women's Studies Program.  These records include minutes, correspondence, reports, financial records, and a variety of other materials that document the functions of the Women's Studies Program, such as designing courses, establishing curricular guidelines, program evaluation, advising students, sponsoring lectures, conferences, and seminars, and participating in the women's studies movement at the regional and national level. The records are organized into two subgroups and eighteen series:

Subgroup I. Administrative Files

Series 1.  Charter
Series 2.  Minutes
Series 3.  Correspondence
Series 4.  Annual Reports
Series 5.  Program Review
Series 6.  Financial Records
Series 7.  Curriculum and Advising
Series 8.  Seminars, Conferences, and Lectures
Series 9.  Surveys and Questionnaires
Series 10.  Program Development File
Series 11.  Historical File
Series 12.  Publications
Series 13. Faculty Additions
Series 14. Committee Files

Subgroup II.  Affiliate Organizations

Series 1.  Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA)
Series 2.  National Women's Studies Association (NWSA)
Series 3.  North Central Women's Studies Association (NCWSA)
Series 4.  Northern Ohio Women's Studies Consortium (NOWSC)

Sub-Group I.  Administrative Files, 1972-1993 (3.6 linear feet)
Administrative Files consists of records documenting the establishment, organization, development, and administration of Women's Studies at Oberlin College.  Arranged in twelve series:  Charter; Minutes; Correspondence; Annual Reports; Program Review; Financial Records; Curriculum and Advising; Conferences, Seminars, and Lectures; Surveys and Questionnaires; Program Development File; Publications; and Historical File.

Series 1.  Charter, n.d. (0.1 linear feet)
This series consists of several drafts of a document describing the structure and procedures of the Women's Studies Program Committee.

Series 2.  Minutes, 1974-1993 (0.3 linear feet)
The minutes record the agenda and discussion at meetings of the Women's Studies Collective (February-April 1974) and its successors, the Women's Studies Committee (November 1974-1982) and Women's Studies Program Committee (1982- ).  Arranged chronologically.

Series 3.  Correspondence, 1974-1993 (0.4 linear feet)
Contains incoming and outgoing letters and memoranda of the Women's Studies Committee and Women's Studies Program Committee.  Major topics include women's studies curriculum, programs and events, and participation in the Great Lakes Colleges Association and National Women's Studies Association.  Chronological.

Series 4.  Annual Reports, 1978, 1982-92 (0.2 linear feet)
Annual reports made by the chair(s) of the Women's Studies Program Committee to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  They discuss budget, curriculum, personnel, the student body, prizes and awards, and events.  Chronological.

Series 5.  Program Review, 1978-95, n.d. (0.2 linear feet)
Consists of drafts of a report and related correspondence compiled by consultants at the request of the Women's Studies Program Committee.  These records document the development of Women's Studies at Oberlin, evaluate the program's strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations for improvements.  Relate program review records from 1989 to 1993 can be found in the NWSA/FIPSE project files in subgroup II.  Arranged chronologically.

Series 6.  Financial Records, 1974-1997 (0.1 linear feet)
Financial records include the budget for a National Endowment for the Humanities consultancy (1981), the Program Committee budget, 1982-83, and library materials budget, 1974-79, and other financial materials through 1997. Arranged chronologically.

Series 7.  Curriculum and Advising, 1973-1988 (0.3 linear feet)
Contains guidelines and proposals for individual majors, a list of students majoring in Women's Studies, 1976-1983, course descriptions and syllabi, and a creative writing booklet entitled "Threatening Choices" produced by students in the EXCO Women and Body Image Class, Spring 1988.  Materials on advising are filed first by document type, followed by materials on curriculum filed alphabetically by course title.

Series 8.  Seminars, Conferences, and Lectures, 1975-83, 1987-88 (0.8 linear feet)
Consists of flyers and news releases for various events; correspondence and related documents concerning Gerda Lerner's visit and lecture at Oberlin; a National Science Foundation grant proposal, correspondence, publicity, and biographical information on participants in the Women in Science Career workshop; correspondence, memoranda, and schedules regarding Sandwich Seminars, and 56 cassette tapes of Sandwich Seminars.

Series 9.  Surveys and questionnaires, 1972, 1978, 1980-82, 1993 (0.l linear feet)
Contains results of a "questionnaire for community contributions to a program in women's studies," 1972; raw data and a summary of "Student Women's Studies Questionnaire," 1972; and a report entitled "Response of the Women's Studies Committee to the Long-Range Planning Questionnaire," with related documents, 1978.  Arranged chronologically. Also included are interviews of Oberlin College Women, 1980, and a 1993 survey of students.

Series 10.  Program Development File, 1973-83, n.d. (0.7 linear feet)
The Program Development File includes correspondence, flyers, brochures, and course syllabi accumulated by the Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Paula Goldsmid in the early stages of planning a Women's Studies program.  Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series 11.  Historical File, 1976-1989 (0.1 linear feet)
Contains historical summaries of the committee and program, 1976 and 1981, and lists of committee members, 1981-82 and no date, and other materials (i.e. correspondence, reports) that provide documentation of the early years and development of the Women’s Studies Program. Arranged chronologically.

Series 12.  Publications, 1974-77, 1982-  (0.3 linear feet)
Consists of publications stemming from the Women's Studies program, including the Friends of Women's Studies Directory, 1988 and a flyer on Women's Studies at Oberlin, no date, copies of the newsletters WomaNews, 1974-77 and 1982-, Woman News, 1974-76.  Also included is a copy of Radical Teacher, 1977.  Arranged alphabetically by title.

Series 13. Faculty Additions, 1975, 1978, 1981-83, 1990-94
Consists of various files relating to the hiring process of the Women’s Studies Programs. Included are requests for temporary and permanent additions to staff, advertisements for positions as well as notes on contemporary tenure-line candidate employees.

Series 14. Committee Files, 1971-72, 1974, 1980-85, 1991-94
This series consists of files that relate to Women’s Studies committees. It includes files from the Committee for the Education of Women at Oberlin, the Women’s Studies Program Committee, Subcommittee files and others.

Subgroup II.  Affiliate Organizations, 1976-1993 (1.6 linear feet)
This subgroup contains records documenting Oberlin's affiliation with organizations concerned in some way with the development of women's studies as an academic discipline.  Each organization is a series.  Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA), National Women's Studies Association (NWSA), North Central Women's Studies Association (NCWSA), and the Northern Ohio Women's Studies Consortium (NOWSC).

Series 1.  Great Lakes Colleges Association, 1976-1983 (0.6 linear feet)
Contains documents relating to Oberlin's participation in the Women's Studies section of the GLCA, including correspondence, flyers, and reports dealing with conferences and workshops; lists of speakers, consultants, and films; the GLCA Women's Studies Newsletter, 1976-83, and Resource Handbook, 1976-79; and correspondence regarding visiting scholar Florence Howe and copies of papers by Howe, 1978.  Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series 2.  National Women's Studies Association, 1976-83, 1985, 1989-93 (0.8 linear feet)
Consists of correspondence, questionnaires, newsletters, and flyers dealing with Oberlin's participation as a founding member of NWSA and information sheets, program summaries, and papers delivered at national conferences, 1979-1982.  Also, there are folders pertaining to "The Courage to Question" Project undertaken 1989-93.  Also included are copies of the NWSA publication Women's Studies Newsletter, 1977-78.General materials are filed first, chronologically, followed by conference materials, also filed chronologically.

Series 3.  North Central Women's Studies Association, 1977-82 (0.1 linear feet)
This series contains planning documents, newsletters, and conference programs of the NCWSA.   Arranged chronologically.

Series 4.  Northern Ohio Women's Studies Consortium, 1977-79 (0.1 linear feet)
Contains proposals for a Consortium, 1977 and meeting programs, 1978-79.  Arranged chronologically.

The majority of these records were acquired from the Office of the Women's Studies Program on June 14, 1988.  Upon its creation in 1982, that office had inherited files relating to Women's Studies from the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences responsible for women's concerns.  Many of those files are now a part of this collection.  The Women's Studies Program Office transferred to the Archives minutes and memoranda from the 1987/88 academic year in September 1988. 

Additional records were transferred to the Archives on June 23, 1988 by Cynthia Comer, Associate Head of Reference for the Main Library, who had acquired them from the Associate Dean's Office.  Of the records in that lot relating to Women's Studies, only those containing signed correspondence were retained.  They became Subgroup I, Series 10. Program Development File.  The remainder, consisting primarily of brochures, flyers, and catalogs of books and films, were destroyed.  In July 1988, Ms. Comer sent to the Archives 56 cassette tapes of Women's Studies Sandwich Seminars.

Materials concerning the Women in Science Career Workshop were discovered in the Science Library by Librarian Alison Riker, who subsequently sent them to Barbara McGill in Serials Cataloging.  McGill then transferred those materials to the Archives.  Multiple copies and invoices were discarded.

In 1993, additional records were received from Linda Silver.  This accession included minutes (1988-92), annual reports (1988-92) and records of the NWSA/FIPSE project "The Courage to Question" 1989-93.

In 2006 the College Archives received an additional installment from the office of Gender and Women’s Studies (Frances Hasso).

See March/April 1978 issue of the Oberlin Alumni Magazine, "Women's Studies: Valid and Necessary Results of Student Women's Studies Questionnaire." Also Nellie Heldt Lectures (0/00/15); Committee on the Status of Women (33/1); Alumni and Development Records, Former Faculty, Staff, and Trustees (28/3) for Paula Goldsmid, Ellen Lawson, and Zara Wilkenfeld; Lawson and Merrill; Women's History Project records and Associated files (30/157); Judith Larkin Elkin The Great Lakes Colleges Association. Twenty-one Years of Cooperation in Higher Education; and "Current Scholarship in Women's Studies" (16/8).