Women's Center & Women of Color Coalition
serving as a focal point for “addressing women’s issues on campus, in the community-
at-large, and globally” and working to be an “open community of feminist leaders
inspiring change through advocacy, support and education toward the growth and
success of all.” (1) The WC provides support and mentoring services, as well as a safe,
welcoming, and comfortable atmosphere where inclusivity, diversity, collaboration, and
accountability are valued. The WC has an impressive library, with books and periodicals
on women’s rights, multicultural and global affairs, women’s history, queer and gender
issues, legal information, politics, sexual violence, and women’s health. (2)
The Women’s Center began in the 1972-1973 academic year when various faculty
members led by Jeanne Dost formed a group to teach the course “American Women
Today.” They needed a physical space for women and men to discuss feminist issues,
listen to speakers, and study women’s literature. The Physical Plant manager suggested
the old “Paleontology Building,” which was scheduled for demolition the following
summer. Demolition crews never arrived and the building was declared historic in 1974.
That same year the WC received financial support from the university, and four years
later OSU established a Women’s Studies Program, initially housed and administered
through the Center. Though the Program relocated in 1981, the WC continued to serve as
a resource for women on campus and in the community. (3)
With increased enrollment of women in the 1980s, the Women’s Center wanted to
eliminate discrimination on campus by focusing on support services and educational
programming for students and the university community. They set up task forces, an
advisory board, and committees of faculty, students, and people in the OSU community.
Unfortunately, this time was not without conflict; the WC staff faced harassment and the
building was vandalized. The staff persevered, focusing on creating a safe and empowering
space. (4) Over the past four decades, outreach and activism opportunities for students
have been central throughout the Center’s history, and while the programs, guest speakers,
and activities sponsored by the Women’s Center have been varied, the focus has been on
women’s achievements, the status of women, the roles and needs of both genders in a
changing society, and the importance of being a catalyst for equity and social justice. (5)
In the 2010s, women of color at OSU began to formally gather to acknowledge the
intersectionality between race and gender and to more powerfully vocalize their needs.
In 2014, students of color, especially women of color, were leaders in organizing the
Solidarity March and #ITooAmOSU campaign. It was during this time that they formed
the Women of Color Coalition (WOCC). (6) While there is also a Women of Color Student
Support Group, the WOCC is an intergenerational group, open to students, faculty, and
staff who self-identify as women of color. The WOCC aims to provide opportunities
for professional development, networking, mentoring, and a sense of community for
women of color at a predominantly white institution. (7)
Both the WC and the WOCC are committed to empowering women and by doing so
creating a safer more welcoming campus for the entire OSU community. Their shared
gathering space is physically and symbolically meaningful. When asked why she decided
to work at the Women’s Center, staff member Shelby Baisden said:
I felt like it was a safe space where I could really, just, feel myself. I hadn’t really
felt that many other places on campus, and I felt like it was an inclusive space
where anyone who walked in could feel comfortable... I agreed with their
mission ... their outlook on feminism and ... [the] social justice theory that
we apply to our work. (8)
