Boise State University’s Gender Equity Center Celebrates 20th Anniversary This Fall

The Women's Center was founded in Fall 1992 and was organized by a group of students, faculty, staff, and HERSWest, Boise State’s Women’s Faculty/Staff Association. Its mission is “to empower students to achieve their goals and promotes social change by providing educational outreach, support services, and a safe place.” Funding for the Center’s creation was obtained by Dr. Larry Selland, interim president at the time.

The Center was signed into being as an official administrative unit on July 1, 1993, by Selland. The university provided the Center with funding and established an advisory board during this time. The educational outreach opportunities provided by the Gender Equity Center strives to raise awareness of policies, services, and programs at Boise State that affect women. It also provides a place to meet and study, and is located in the SUB on the second floor.

The Center is well documented in Special Collections and Archives through scrapbooks, photographs, event materials, newspaper articles, and correspondence. Newsletters and other publications produced by the Center, as well as items created for Women’s History Month are also housed in Special Collections.

The materials are open to the public.Materials in ScholarWorks on the Gender Equity Center include the annual booklet published in March during Women’s History Month titled “Women Making History.” The years span 2001-2011, and the collection may be viewed at the link below http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/wmh/ 

More information about the Gender Equity Center is available at their website, https://genderequity.boisestate.edu/.

[Update 12/13/17: The Women's Center changed its name to the Gender Equity Center in 2016]