UH Women's Association Records

Collection

Identifier: 1969-038

Staff Only

The University of Houston Women's Association (UHWA) Records contain records of the organization from its founding in 1962 through 1994. The bulk of the materials date from the 1980s. Most of the UHWA papers consist of paper documents with a few photographs. The collection is arranged chronologically within each series, adhering as much as possible to the original order. However, the organizations of some items varied with the majority of the material, resulting in slight reordering. Materials regarding the Faculty Wives' Club, the Women's Club of the University of Houston, and the American Association of University Women, initially found among the UHWA documents, were removed and arranged in separate collections. The researcher may find it helpful to examine these smaller collections as well as the University of Houston Women's Association Papers.

The fourteen series of the UHWA papers largely follow the chronological order of the overall collection. The series are: the Executive Board, Business Meeting Minutes, Financial Records, Mary H. Hoffman Scholarship, Membership, Publicity, Activities, Newsletters, Correspondence, Photographs, Yearbooks, Miscellaneous, Board Binders, and Unprocessed Materials.

Dates

1962-2007
Majority of material found within 1962-1994

Creator

University of Houston Women's Association, 1962-1994 (Family)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish from copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian. Reproduction decisions will be made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis.

Extent

3.50 linear feet

Additional Description

Historical Information

The Faculty Wives Club and the Woman's Club of the University of Houston combined in 1962 to form the University of Houston Women's Association (UHWA). The UHWA provided a social and service organization for the wives of faculty and staff, and an ever-increasing number of female university faculty. Throughout each academic year the UHWA arranged various large-scale activities such as swimming parties, dinner theaters, and dances for its members, of which numbers usually ranged from two to three hundred dues-paying members. Smaller interest-based group functions included bridge games, book clubs, sewing parties, and gourmet cooking lessons. The organization also supported the student population through service events. The most notable of these is the Mary Harding Hoffman scholarship established in 1978. The scholarship provided children of University of Houston faculty or staff with tuition for their freshman year at the University of Houston on a merit basis.

An annually-elected executive board of officers led the University of Houston Women's Association. The primary officers, consisting of a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer directed the affairs of the UHWA through smaller committees. The most consistently active committees during the organization's history included the newcomers, scholarship, and activities committees. The activities group also subdivided into smaller units gathering members with similar interests such as bridge, sewing, reading, and bowling.

Separated Materials

Materials regarding the Faculty Wives' Club, the Women's Club of the University of Houston, and the American Association of University Women, initially found among the UHWA documents, were removed and arranged in separate collections.