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College Women's Center Welcomes Undergrads
Cambridge, Mass. - September 28, 2006 - Students, faculty, and staff celebrated the opening of the Harvard College Women's Center on Sept. 21. Located in Canaday Hall in the Old Yard, the center serves as a meeting space and outreach center for all undergraduates, with a specific focus on the needs and concerns of female undergraduate students and organizations serving women.
Speaking at the opening celebration, Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross praised the commitment of students involved in realizing the center. "The opening culminates the efforts of our students for 35 years," he said. "This is the first time that the College administration has worked closely with students supporting a center, in formulating a real vision, and committing real resources."
The opening of the center was the end-result of a process begun in 2004 when 13 student organizations endorsed the "Proposal to Establish the Harvard-Radcliffe Women's Center" drafted by the Radcliffe Union of Students. Acting on the recommendation of Gross, Associate Dean Judith Kidd formed a committee of students and faculty charged with selecting a director for the center. After a nationwide search, the committee chose Susan Marine, former director of Harvard's Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Rescue, as director of the center.
"The center provides the women of Harvard with a more cohesive community, bringing together women's groups across the campus under the same roof," said Marine. "Beyond providing support to existing organizations, the center offers new opportunities for women to come together and address challenging problems with a united front."
In addition to serving as an advisory locus for existing programs such as the Ann Radcliffe Trust, the Women's Leadership Program, Women in Science at Harvard and Radcliffe, and the Women's Leadership Awards selection, the center will offer new programs designed to foster social networking and mentorship between current students and distinguished alumnae.
While much of the center's programming and events will be managed by students, the administrative staff, composed of the director, an administrative assistant, and 10 undergraduate and graduate interns, will provide a number of services including health and relationship counseling, talks and performances by notable Harvard alumnae, career development, life-skill enhancement, and public policy perspectives on the economic and political status of women.
Marine added that the Women's Center has a dual responsibility. "We aim to serve not just organizations, but people as well," she said. "Through our mentorship and counseling programs, we hope to assist women in achieving their personal and professional goals at Harvard and beyond."
The opening celebration included an a cappella performance by the Radcliffe Pitches, introductory remarks by Gross, and a speech by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, 300th Anniversary University Professor and author of "Yards and Gates: Gender in Harvard and Radcliffe History."
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