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Creator
Association of Black Women in Higher Education
Call number
Sc MG 797
Physical description
15.16 linear feet (37 boxes)
Preferred Citation

[Item], Association of Black Women in Higher Education records, SC MG 797, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

The Association of Black Women in Higher Education (ABWHE) is a non-profit, professional organization whose founding mission was to communicate, preserve, and sustain the presence of Black women in higher education; and to promote their intellectual growth and educational development. The collection contains material generated by members of the board of directors, and the various committees of the organization. These files detail the decision-making processes, administrative functioning, and financial arrangements of the ABWHE, and reflect the scope of its activities.

Biographical/historical information

The Association of Black Women in Higher Education (ABWHE) is a professional, non-profit organization established in 1978. The founding mission was to communicate, preserve, and sustain the presence of Black women in higher education. Its current mission is to promote the intellectual growth and educational development of Black women in higher education, eliminate social barriers that hinder them, communicate and document professional achievements of Black women and men, provide mentorship for Black youth, and work towards social justice.

The main functions of the ABWHE are hosting international, national, and regional conferences; publishing a newsletter; circulating job opportunities; and also administering a scholarship fund.

The association was formed during a conference themed "Black Women in Higher Education" that took place in Albany, New York in 1978. Jacqueline Kane served as the founding president (1978-1981) and first program chair. The board of directors was established in 1980, meeting monthly to write a constitution and bylaws, and establish working committees. Board terms are two years. The May 1979 conference was attended by two-hundred women, and was hosted by New York University. At that time, conference planning was the nexus of the organization's work.

In July 1981, the ABWHE was incorporated under its new president, Gloria Prim Brown. At the third conference (1982), the association undertook a membership survey and expanded its outreach through publishing its first independent newsletter, mailing list, and membership survey report. A focal point of the newsletter was employment listings and recognition of the professional accomplishments of the membership body. In 1984, the Outreach Committee, chaired by Bernadette Penceal, was formed. It developed programs to enhance member participation. These programs received funding and sponsorship from private and government sources. An advisory board was created in 1985.

In 1987, the ABWHE president Lea Williams announced an endowment fund and also initiated the development of a program agenda model for national interest chapters. The association bestowed its first recognition award in 1988, and established a scholarship fund in 1989. The first regional conference was held in 1990. By 1991, five chapters had been chartered: in Philadelphia, New York City, Albany, Chicago, and the Nassau/Suffolk region. To advance the aims of the organization, the committee for Research and Education (previously Research and Evaluation) instituted two initiatives in 1993: a doctoral-studies mentorship program named "Sister-Link," and the publication of members' research in scholarly journals. In the following years, the ABWHE organized national conferences and regional roundtables, presented workshops at international meetings, conferred recognition awards, and actively sought funding. The 25th anniversary conference was held in Harlem in 2003.

Scope and arrangement

The collection dates from 1970 to 2013 (bulk dates 1980-1993), and mostly contains material generated by members of the board of directors and the various committees of the organization. These files detail the decision-making processes, administrative functioning, and financial arrangements of the ABWHE, and reflect the scope of its activities. The collection also provides an insight into the issues and professional challenges for Black women in higher education in the final decades of the 20th Century.

A large proportion of the collection falls under the grouping "Board of Directors" and provides an overview of the growth and dynamics of the organization over the years. This material includes presidential and board of directors' correspondence, notes, agendas, minutes; and materials related to membership, grants, and funding, which may also appear in the Financial Documents. The Board of Directors files also contain legal and procedural documentation such as those related to the constitution, by-laws, organizational history and structure. The Advisory Board files are mostly composed of correspondence and together, these boards represent the executive functioning of the association.

The collection reflects a predominant activity of the ABWHE, organizing conferences. A significant amount of material was generated by the conference committee in their activities of planning, organizing, financing, and reviewing these meetings. These files include correspondence, presentation proposals, printed matter, attendance lists, and financial documents. There are also conference packets-conference folders that contain programs, and material collected at the conferences. These documents are mostly printed matter, but may include ribbons, name tags, and other realia. Sound and video recordings of conference sessions from 1979, 1985, and 1990 are present.

Other activities of the ABWHE are also represented in the Committee Functions files, including newsletter creation, the development of regional chapters, and the conferring of scholarships and recognition awards. This material includes correspondence, meeting minutes, agendas, flyers, and programs. As board members were required to chair standing committees, material relating to committee functions may also be found in the Board of Director's grouping, and vice versa.

The Financial Documents include revenue and expenditure statements, tax documents, accounting documents, and correspondence concerning the organization's finances.

The Chapter Development records reflect the board's discussions concerning the development of regional chapters, mostly through documents created by the chapter development committee. There is also some material generated by the activities of the Nassau/Suffolk chapter itself, which includes meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, and financial records.

Arrangement

Files are arranged chronologically within each catergory.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by the Association of Black Women in Higher Education, 2003.

Processing information

Compiled by Amelia Carlin, 2016.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor

Conditions Governing Use

Information on copyright available from repository.

Access restrictions

All reproduction requests are subject to limitations noted in divisional policies on reproduction. Files in Box 37 are closed until the year 2053. Audio visual materials are unavailable pending digitization.