Association for Women In Science Records, 1976-2002

Historical Note

The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is a non-profit organization that was established in 1971. The focus of this organization is to work toward the improvement of educational and employment opportunities, as well as achieving equity and full participation for women in all fields of math and science. In addition to the national organization, there are 76 local chapters encompassing over 5,000 members throughout the United States.

The AWIS – Gulf Coast-Houston chapter is composed of approximately 160 members. The mission statement of this chapter is “Promoting opportunities for women to enter the sciences and to achieve their career goals.” The chapter works toward their goals by encouraging the enrollment and participation of girls and women in all levels of math and science education, promoting the achievements of individual women scientists, supporting laws and programs with the goal of increasing the number of women in all fields of science, and by creating links among present and future women scientists.

From 1991-1993 the AWIS-GCH established a local mentoring program that was funded by the Sloan Foundation. This program linked undergraduate students with graduate students, graduate and post-doctoral student with each other, as well as with established women scientists. There was also the Shadow Program, which allowed undergraduate students to spend a day with established women scientists. Also in 1993, the chapter Co-Sponsored the UHWSP conference, The Women’s Health Challenge: Take the Initiative!, which addressed social and political issues that affect women’s health and health policies.

Scope and Contents

The current collection consists of general organizational records. Administrative materials such as agendas, minutes, financial reports, bylaws, correspondences of the AWIS Gulf Coast Chapter are present. Events, fundraisers, magazines, newsletters, publications and other programs make up the rest of the collection. The bulk of the papers are dated between 1993 and 1999.

The records are arranged into twelve series: Organization, Events, Financial, Fundraisers, Magazines, Membership, Mentor, Newsletters, Publications, Scholarships, Other Organizations and Miscellaneous. The arrangement is alphabetical and chronological by year. Financial materials are separated into treasurer’s reports, chapter dues and bank statements. Some related documents also are included in Fundraiser and Scholarship Series. The Events Series is a mixture of documents relevant to AWIS’ events and other organizations’ events. Newsletters have been sorted by those published by Gulf Coast Chapter and those from national AWIS. The current organization was imposed upon the collection to standardize the various methods of filing.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open for research.

Use Restrictions

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, locating copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Association for Women In Science – Gulf Coast Chapter, Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donations by AWIS Gulf Coast Chapter, 2003

Processed by

Pavan Sirsi and Priscilla Dubcak, March 2004

Detailed Description