The Houston Area Women’s Center Records is an extensive collection which includes all the material pertaining to the organization dating from the year 1975 to the present, and traces the growth and development of the organization from a small grass-roots organization of volunteers towards increased professionalism with a complex agenda and organizational structure. It includes Nikki Van Hightower’s tenure as Executive Director of HAWC following her dismissal as Women Advocate for the City of Houston in 1978. The collection documents the expansion of programs in the nineties, and the center’s involvement with other organizations both at the local and national levels. The importance of the media and public relations campaigns are also highlighted in this collection.

There are two complementary collections: the Houston Area Women’s Center Photographs, and the Houston Area Videos. The photographs’ collection documents fundraising and speaking events, as well as rallies, and activities held at the shelter. The videos’ collection includes video material of Houston Area Women Center activities, as well as copies of made for TV movies and programs that were used for educational purposes. Also held at the University of Houston and of possible interest to the researcher is the Nikki Van Hightower Papers Collection. The HAWC newsletters, Centerline (call number HQ 1439.H68 C46) and Catalyst (call number HQ 1439.H68 C375) are cataloged and available in the Women’s Archive and Research Center at the University of Houston.

There are fifty boxes of material arranged in twenty five series as listed below. This arrangement was developed by merging two previous collections that arrived at different times. The initial records were organized topically, and some of the original organization was lost. The present collection is catalogued thematically, with a subsequent chronological arrangement. There is some overlap in the series, and cross-reference of materials has been done to facilitate research. Starting the year 2001, the arrangement switches to a chronological heading, with each additional year becoming a new series, with a division into sub-series by topic. This collection can be of interest to researchers in the field of women studies, political science, public policy, education, history, law, media and communication studies.