Organization and Arrangement
Biography/History
Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Processing note
Scope and Content
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Indexing Terms
Title: California State University, Long Beach, Center for Women's Studies records
Collection number: 1817
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2.0 linear ft.
(4 boxes)
Date: 1973-2008
Abstract: In the early 1970s a Women’s Studies Program began at California State University Long Beach. The program was considered a
controversial presence and complaints led to the firing of two faculty directors. This collection contains files covering
the Women’s Studies Program from its beginnings to the 1982 ACLU lawsuit against CSULB for the violation of rights. Materials
include memoranda, letters, reports, and newspaper clippings.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections. Charles E. Young Research Library. Los Angeles, California
90095-1575
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- 1. Women's Studies Program history
- 2. Women's Resource Center
- 3. Lawsuit against CSULB
Given the close relationship between the Program, the Resource Center and the lawsuit that emerged when both entities were
facing dissolution, there is some slight overlap in the collection with certain press clippings or memoranda sometimes appearing
more than once, in different series. For the most part these three series reflect the way the files were originally organized,
though within each series documents have been ordered chronologically.
Biography/History
The first Women’s Studies courses were taught at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) in the early 1970s. In 1974
the Center for Women’s Studies was formed by faculty and students with the goal of developing an interdisciplinary minor within
American Studies and to develop a women’s resource center on the CSULB campus. Around this same time, the Associated Students
opened a student-run Women’s Referral Center in the Student Union. The presence of feminism the CSULB campus was a controversial
issue in terms of some of the course content, as well as whether the referral center should be limited to referrals or become
a women’s resource center. In 1982 right-wing activists targeted the center and the program director, Dr. Sondra Hale, and
Women’s Center director, Denise Wheeler, were fired. In response 13 faculty member and three students filed a lawsuit with
the ACLU against CSULB, charging the University with violations of the First and Fourth Amendments.
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], California State University, Long Beach, Center for Women's Studies records (Collection 1817). UCLA
Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Wendy Griffin, August 7, 2008.
Processing note
Processed by Yasmin Damshenas in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Lilace Hatayama,
December 2011.
Scope and Content
This collection contains files covering the Women’s Studies Program at CSULB from its beginnings to a 1982 lawsuit against
the university. Materials include memoranda, letters, reports, and newspaper clippings.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California State University, Long Beach. Center for Women's Studies--Archives.
California State University, Long Beach. Women's Resource Center.
Women's studies--California--Long Beach--Archival resources.