Affirmative Action Officer records
Collection
Identifier: 1EM
Scope and Contents
Collection consists of the records of the Affirmative Action Officer, dating from 1970 to 1992. Contents include correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, studies and surveys, reports, proposals, policies and procedures, news clippings, and publications, as well as budget records, event materials, advertisements for job openings, statistics, and lists. Organizations represented in the collection include the Affirmative Action Task Force, the Affirmative Action Committee, the Black Community Affairs Committee, the Inter-Cultural Awareness Now (ICAN) Committee, the Minority Premed Concerns Committee, the Committee on AIDS, the Black Task Force, the Black Women's Support Group (for faculty and staff), the Financial Aid Policy Committee, the President's Advisory Council, the Committee on Curriculum and Instruction, the Wellesley College Alumnae Association, the Society Organized Against Racism (SOAR), Upward Bound, Ethos, and Mezcla. Topics include creating and/or evolving policy around issues such as accessibility and the rights of persons with disabilities, gender equity and sex discrimination, sexual harrassment, maternity leave, discrimination based on sexual orientation, veteran status, racism in hiring, management, admissions, and the classroom (and elsewhere), anti-Semitism, grievance procedures, and financial aid. Events represented include Black Alumnae Weekend, Black Cultural Week, visits by miscellaneous speakers, Prejudice Reduction Training, Martin Luther King Day, and compliance reviews. Collection also includes files relating to stress management, divestment from corporations engaged in business with South Africa's government during Apartheid, political activism (protests and strikes), English as a Second Language (ESL), and vanpooling.
Dates
- 1970-1992
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research, but contains some material which has been restricted as per the Wellesley College Archives Access Policy: https://www.wellesley.edu/lts/policies/archivesaccess. To make an appointment to view unrestricted materials, please contact the Archives staff by email at archives@wellesley.edu or by phone at (781) 283-3745.
Conditions Governing Use
The Wellesley College Archives welcomes researchers to use materials in the public domain, to make fair use of copyrighted materials as defined by copyright law, and to request permission to use works whose copyright is held by Wellesley College. All materials from the Archives, regardless of copyright status, should be attributed to the Wellesley College Archives, Library and Technology Services when cited, quoted, or reproduced.
Biographical / Historical
Alice Schafer became the Chairwoman of Wellesley College' Affirmative Action Program in 1980 following her retirement as Professor of Mathematics, until 1982. Vanessa Alleyne was appointed Affirmative Action Officer (as well as Assistant to the President, formerly of the Admissions Office) as of Fall 1985, until 1989. Gwendolyn M. Bookman assumed the same role from 1989-1993. In 1993-1994 the position was listed in the Bulletin as "To be appointed," and in 1994-1996 Lee Elliott Brown was appointed the Director of Equal Opportunity and Multicultural Programs. From 1996-1997 Linda Brothers served as Ombudsperson and Acting Director of Affirmative Action/EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) under the Office of the Dean of Students. From 1997-1999 there was an expanded Office for Affirmative Action/EEO composed of 4 staff, still directed by Linda Brothers. As of Fall 1999, the office changed to become the Cultural Advising Network, composed of 10 staff, with Linda Brothers still serving as Director of Equal Opportunity and Ombudsperson. The Cultural Advising Network remained until 2010, at which point it had 6 staff people. In 2011 the office changed to the Office of Intercultural Education, which is still in existence today (as of 2021).
Extent
8.8 Linear Feet (8 cartons, 2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Files in collection are arranged in original order, chronologically by when each of the three accessions included was acquired by Archives. Boxes 1-6 contain accession A91-034; Boxes 7-8 contain accession A93-048; Boxes 9-10 contain accession A95-024.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Boxes 1-6 of this collection come from accession A91-034, received from Gwen Bookman, Affirmative Action Officer, June 26, 1991. Boxes 7-8 come from accession A93-048, received from the Affirmative Action Office, July 8, 1993. Boxes 9-10 come from accession A95-024, received from the Office of Equal Opportunity, 1995, July, 10.
- Title
- Wellesley College. Affirmative Action Officer. Affirmative Action Officer records, 1970-1992: a container list.
- Author
- Natalia Gutiérrez-Jones, Project Archivist
- Date
- 2021 May
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Wellesley College Archives Repository