Beginnings:   
1976, Planning Committee of students, faculty and staff
1977, Women's Studies was first proposed in a Faculty Bulletin article
1981, began operation through College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

First Courses Offered:
1981, WOMS 230: Women in Contemporary America, Fall Semester
1982, WOMS 235: Women Across Cultures and Centuries, Spring Semester

Minor Approved:
1980, Board of Regents approved minor program request
1980, Implemented, Fall

First Minor Completed:
1982, May, Patricia Fertig graduated w/major in In. & T Graphic Arts
16 Minors were signed up by Spring 1982

Graduate Certificate Approved:
1989, Board of Regents approved Graduate Studies Minor

First Graduate Certificates Completed: 
1992, May, Madelyn Anderson, Lori Halverson-Wente, and Kathryn Ranieri

First Self-Designed Major Completed:
Ronda K. Rueff, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, 1986

Mother's Memorial Scholarship
May 2004, the Women's Studies Program endowed its first scholarship, the Mother's Memorial Scholarship Fund. Scholarships were first made available in Spring 2005.

Women's History Week Theme:
In response to Marilyn Skinner's request letter dated January 15, 1985, Greg Sparrow, Mayor of DeKalb, proclaimed March 3 - 9, 1985 as Women's History Week in DeKalb.
1985 "1975-85: The U.N. Decade for Women: Where Do We Go From Here?"

Women's History Month Themes:
1986 Women in the Arts
1987 U.S. Congress designated March as Women's History Month
1987 Women and Work
1988 Women in the Sciences
1989 The Lives of Rural Women
1990 Women, the Law, and Public Policy
1991 Women as Innovators, Educators, and Inventors
1992 Her Stories: Public Images; Private Realities
1993 Women and Spirituality
1994 Creating Women: Art, Action, and Social Commentary
1995 Women Among Us: Celebrating Our Past, Shaping Our Future
1996 Women's Work is Never Done
1997 Body and Soul
1998 Women at Play
1999 Generations: Not Just Girls Anymore
2000 Women's Acts:  Acting Up, Acting Out, Activism
2001 NIU Women's Studies Program:  Twenty Years of Warming the Climate for Women
2002 Women Around the World
2003 Women and Volunteerism: Every Woman Can Do Something for the Cause
2004 Women's Movements
2005 Body Waves
2006 25 Years of Women's Studies at NIU: Re-Imagining Sisterhood
2007 Re-Defining Motherhood 

First Conference for Young Women:
First Conference for Young Women, October, 1996
Eighth Annual Conference for Young Women, 2003 Schedule
Nighth Annual Conference for Young Women, 2004 Schedule
Tenth Annual Conference for Young Women, 2005 Schedule
Eleventh Annual Conference for Young Women, 2006 Schedule 

Changes in Administration:
1979 - 81, Faculty Coordinating Committee
1981 - 83, Barbara Bate, Half-time Coordinator, Served the program on release time from department faculty position
1983 - 86, Marilyn Skinner, Half-time Coordinator
1986 - 95, Lois Self, Half-time Coordinator (WSAC Minutes dated September 17, 1986: title changed to Half-time Director)
1995 - Present, Amy Levin, Full-time Director (1995: Position changed to full-time faculty administration)

Hiring of Joint Appointment Staff:
Diana Swanson, Women's Studies & English Department, (1991-Present)
Lynn Kamenitsa, Women's Studies & Political Science, (1993-Present)
Heather Hardy, Women's Studies & English Department (1993-97)

Creation of Program Coordinator Position:
1996, Margaret M. Cook
2006, Rebekah L. Kohli (Program Coordinator position changed to full-time, 10 month position)

Changes in Offices:
Zulauf Hall (1980 - 81)
Wirtz House, 305 Normal Road (1981 - 89)
107 & 108 Reavis Hall, 108 Reavis was TA's office (1989 - 95)
103 Reavis Hall (1995 - Present)

Major Women's History Month Events:
1985
Jane Byrne, former Mayor of Chicago, Keynote Speaker

1986
Kate Clinton, Feminist Comedian
Doris Karpiel, Illinois State Senator (1976 NIU Graduate)

1991
Joan Ferrante, Columbia University, "Educated Women in the Middle Ages"
Marcia Gillespie, Essence Magazine

1991
Jane Curry, "Just Say Know," Humorist on Women in Higher Education

1992
Jacqueline Wade, Ohio State University, "Feminism and Black Liberation"
Caroline Hertzenberg, Argonne National Laboratories, "Women's Contributions to the Manhatten Project"
First Annual Quilting Bee

1993
M. Annette Jaimes, "Native American Concepts of Women's Spirituality"

1994
Linda Kerber, University of Iowa, "Women, Citizenship, and the Military"
Elena Featherstone, film maker, "Alice Walker: Visions of the Spirit"
"The Trojan Women" by Euripides, Players Theatre

1995
Cheryl Johnson, great-granddaughter of Bertha Glidden, "The Glidden Women"
"Perspectives from the Pulpit," Local Women Clergy
"Boundary Breakers: Women in Athletics" NIU Women's Basketball v. UIC, half-time
Ceremony to recognize gender equity in Athletics
"Inspiring Women Display," tribute to local women

1996
Gloria Steinem, author, "An evening with Gloria Steinem"
Ana Castillo, author, "Poetics of Conscientizacion: Chicano Liberation in the Changing Literature Canon"
Los Madres de la Plaza de Mayo: The Mothers of Argentina's "Disappeared"
Charlotte Rollman, School of Art, "Reliving Beijing: Fourth World Conference on Women," participant
Donna Ferrato, photojournalist, "Living with the Enemy," domestic violence
Judy Nosigian, author, "Our Bodies, Ourselves: Women's Health Issues in the 90s"
Joy Harjo, poet, "The Process Called Living"

1997
Sydney Jacobs, environmental educator, "Musings on Adventure: Women on Wheels"
Julia Wood, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Gender and Communications"
Lucy Greeley, author, "Autobiography of a Face"

1998
"An Evening with Comedian Paula Poundstone"
Emily Toth, author and professor, Louisiana State University, "Ms. Mentor's Impeccable Advice for Women in Academia"

1999
Susan Lorraine Kennedy, registered nurse and attorney, "Legal Aspects of Advanced Practice Nursing"
Michelle Citron, independent film maker, "Home Movies, Autobiography, and Other Necessary Fictions"
Jane Tompkins, U.I.C., "Autobiography in the Classroom"

2000
Margorie Garber, Harvard University, "Vice Versa:  Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life"
Rusty Barcelo, University of Minnesota, "Diversity in the University, Heightening Awareness of the Role and Contributions of Latinas in Higher Education"

2001
Caryn McTighe Musil, Association of American Colleges and Universities, "Unfinished Business?  Gender Equity in Higher Education and Beyond"

2002
Dorothy McBride Stetson, Florida State University, "Women's Movements:  Have They Made a Difference?"
Carole Lacampagne, Director, Mathematical Sciences Education Board at the National Academy of Science, "Non-Traditional Paths to Non-Traditional Careers in Mathematics: The Plight and the Glory of Women in Mathematics"
Kathleen Kiernan, Deputy Assistant Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, "Women in Law Enforcement: A Traditional Occupation from a Non-Traditional Perspective"

2003
Floris Barnett Cash, Associate Professor of Africana Studies, State University of New York, Stony Brook, “African-American Women and Volunteerism: A Historical Perspective of Women in Chicago” and “Ida B. Wells Barnett, A Feminist Race Woman.”
Jewell Parker Rhodes, Professor of Creative Writing, Arizona State University,“Douglass’ Women: An Exploration and Celebration of the Two Women in the Life of Abolitionist Frederick Douglass: His Wife and His Mistress."  
Josephine Mendez-Negrete, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Texas, San Antonio, "The Gender Pipeline: Culture, Education, and Opportunities" and guest speaker at The International Women's Day Luncheon.

2004
Karen Eliot, Associate Professor of Dance at the Ohio State University, “Lives and Livelihoods: Six Women Dancers from the 18th Century to the Present” and "Careers in Dance and English."
Nancy Naples, Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, "The Politics of Location: Women's Activism and Globalization" and "Feminist Activism in the Classroom."
Beth Finke, author of Long Time, No See, “Imagine: A Blind Writer’s World View” at the International Women’s Day Luncheon
Pink Bloque of Chicago, "Dancing in Dissent: A Workshop on Dancing as a Form of Street Protest."

2005
Sherrie Inness, Professor of Composition and Rhetoric and American Literature at Miami University of Ohio, “Beyond Charlie's Angels: The New World of the Action Heroine” and “The Enchantment of Mixing-Spoons: Cookbooks for Girls and Boys."
Natalie Guice Adams, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Alabama, “Cheerleaders, Tomboys, and Girlie Girls: Athleticism and Girlhood in the 21st Century” and “Cheerleaders, Tomboys, and Girlie Girls: Athleticism and Girlhood in the 21st Century.”
Gulsat Aygen, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, NIU, I“Here to Tell a Story: Surviving as a Woman,” at the International Women’s Day Luncheon.
Barbara Cole Peters, private collector of women’s twentieth-century fashions, “100 Years of Evening Dresses: A 20th-Century Journey of Body Adornment and Body Display.”
“The Good Body,” An informal reading of Eve Ensler’s new play followed by a discussion with Dr. Alexandra Bennett, NIU Assistant Professor of English.

2006
Valentine Moghadam, Chief of Gender Equality and Development, Social & Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO, "Middle Eastern Feminism: The Challenges of Islamism, Imperialism, and Authoritarian States" and "Sisterhood and Strange Bedfellows: Feminisms in an Age of Empire." Dr. Moghadam also presented "Feminism, Legal Reform and Women's Empowerment in the Middle East" at the International Women's Day Luncheon.
Kelli Lyon Johnson, Assistant Professor of English, Miami University-Hamilton, "Mapping Collective Memory in Chicana Literature: The Politics of Belonging" and "Finding the Way Home: The Map in Native American Women's Writing."
Barbara Cole Peters, private collector of women's twentieth century fashions, "Lady in Red & Black: Ode to Northern Illinois University."
"Triple Goddess," a staged reading of Sara Keely McGuire's play followed by a discussion led by the playwright.

2007
Susan J. Douglas, Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor & Chair of Communication Studies, University of Michigan, "Researching Women in the Media" (seminar), and "The Mommy Myth-The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women" (lecture).
 Elizabeth (Betsy) Beaulieu, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Appalachian State University, "Food, Family, and Marijuana? Weeds Re-Invents the Suburban Mother" (seminar), "Opaque with confusion and shame: Maternal Ambivalence in Rita Dove's Poetry" (lecture).
Toril Moi, James B. Duke Professor of Literature & Romance Studies, Duke University, keynote presentation at the 15th Annual Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language and Media.
Barbara Cole Peters, private collector of 20th c. fashions, "The Little Black Dress," at the Nehring Gallery.
"Eleemosynary," a staged reading of Lee Blessing's story. 

For more information on the History of the Women's Studies Program, see Collection UA 30, Boxes #4 and #5 in Regional History Center, Swen Parson Hall 155, or call 753-1779.