Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW) records

The Barnard Women's Center was founded in 1971 and described in a 1972 brochure as "a new program for an old need: the dignity, autonomy, and equality of women. More than a place, more than a project, it symbolizes the way in which a college may gather its energies on behalf of women." Renamed the Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW) in 1987, the Center has throughout its existence supported programming, resources, and publications related to feminist scholarship and activism.

In the early 1970s, the Center supported various projects and resources, often acting as a central space for sharing information. The Center was instrumental in the formation of a Women's Studies program at Barnard in 1977 and also offered non-credit courses, many of which focused on vocational or financial training for women. The Center also housed the Women's Counseling Project, which provided information and referrals to women about legal, medical, vocational, therapy, and familial issues. A resource collection, founded in 1973 with the research materials of Myra Josephs (Barnard '28), grew to include both scholarly literature and ephemeral materials relating to the women's movement and was open to all.

The Scholar and the Feminist conference, first held in 1974, is a central part of the programming of the Center, which also includes the Reid lectureship (inaugurated in 1975 with Alice Walker and June Jordan as inaugural speakers) as well as other conferences, symposia, panels, lectures, exhibits, and events. Recent BCRW programs have featured such scholars and activists as Janet Mock, Angela Davis, Anita Hill, and more.

Early publications of the Center included a bibliography of scholarly research on women,Women's Work and Women's Studies (published 1971-1974), a booklet on vocational, family, medical, and legal resources titledHelp (published in 1971 and 1973), and volumes of collected scholarly papers,The Barnard Occasional Papers on Women's Issues. In 1991, the Center started publishing a newsletter, and since 2003 has produced the online journalThe Scholar & Feminist Online in addition to other print and online publications, videos, and a podcast.

The Center is governed by an Advisory Board (previously the Executive Committee) and a Director. Barnard English professor Catherine Stimpson was a part of the task force that advocated for the creation of the Center and assumed the role of acting director from its inception through 1972. Jane S. Gould (Barnard '40), who had previously worked in Alumnae Affairs and the Office of Careers and Placement at Barnard, assumed the directorship after Stimpson and served until 1983. Temma Kaplan served as director from 1983-1991 and was followed by Leslie J. Calman (Barnard '74), who served from 1991-2000. Janet R. Jakobsen was named director in 2000 and served until 2015, when Barnard Professor of Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies and now chair of the Africana Studies Department, Tina Campt took over the position. In 2018, Elizabeth Castelli assumed the role of director. The Center has also collaborated with a constellation of activists, artists and scholars as fellows including Reina Gossett, Amber Hollibaugh, Ntozake Shange, Mariame Kaba, and Katherine Acey.