Rhode Island Partnership for Research on Women and Gender (Rec. Gr. 176)

Historical note

The Rhode Island Partnership for Research on Women and Gender was born out of the creative energy of a group of faculty, graduate students, alumni, and community members dedicated to the issues of gender. Some members of the Partnership came from an earlier group, the Women's Studies Council.

The Partnership was established in 1994-1995 as a campus-community collaborative of individuals from the public and private sectors, organizations, and institutions of higher education who were engaged in feminist research, scholarship, creative activities, instruction and service. The status, condition, and well-being of women and girls composed the nucleus of its work and public policy formation. Its work was supported by private donations, the University of Rhode Island's College of Arts and Sciences, and a Rhode Island legislative grant.

Mary Ellen Reilly (Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at URI) served as Director of the Women's Studies Program from 1983-1998 and as Director of the Rhode Island Partnership for Research on Women and Gender from its inception to its closing (1994-2003). Linda J. Kushner, an attorney and former state representative for Providence's 4th District, served as Associate Director during these years of operation. Professor Reilly collected the records of the Partnership and donated them in 2004 to the URI Special Collections and Archives.