Louise R. Noun Endowment for Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies

Série

Louise R. Noun Endowment for Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies

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This collection is representative of Mary Lynn Broe's tenure as chair of the Noun Endowment. Included are committee minutes, not separated from other information disseminated at meetings, as well as information on many of the Endowment's speakers, proposals for other speakers, conference sponsorships, internship information, colloquia information, a GWS 495 project, and information on the Jeanne Burkle Award and its recipients.

Materials were transferred in two stages, the first in spring, 2004, and later integrated with additional documents from spring, 2005.

The Louise R. Noun Program in Women's Studies was established in 1986 in honor of the noted Iowa feminist, writer, and art collector.  From 1986 through 2001, the Noun program was administered by Mary Lynn Bore, who worked with an interdisciplinary advisory committee of faculty and students.  The program maintained a breadth of activity through the sponsorship of conference, internships, colloquia, and curricular development, thus enhancing campus and community understanding of women, feminism, and gender relations.  Among the prominent scholars and speakers the Noun program brought to campuus were Eleanor Smeal, David Halperin, Lani Guinier, and Martin Bernal.  The Noun Porgram also administered the Jeanne Burlke Award, given each year to a senior woman who made a significant contribution to the cause of women.

The Noun Program created an atmosphere out of which the Gender and Women's Studies Concentration could grow.  Through FEMSEM, the combination of several different disciplines began to form a curriculum infused with feminist works and theory.  By 1989, the Gender and Women's Study Concentration Committee successfully created a proposal for the creation of the concentration and thus GWS was established in the spring of 1989.  This creation caused the Noun Program and the Gender and Women's Study Concentration to separate and the Noun Program began to focus more exclusively on supporting "multicultural and cross-disciplinary speakers and events" (http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/noun/review/) whereas its former classroom endeavors have been encompassed by the GWS Department.