Associated Colleges of the South Awards University of Richmond Funding for Teaching Courses on Women in Higher Education

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — The University of Richmond has been awarded grant funding to develop courses that emphasize women’s role in higher education throughout history.

University of Richmond was one of five schools in the Associated Colleges of the South consortium to be awarded funding for the project, “#MeToo: How Women Historically Navigated Higher Education at the ACS Schools.”

In collaboration with archivists and historians, the grant supports courses that teach students about women in higher education, with a special emphasis on researching the history of women at liberal arts colleges in the South.

“By emphasizing student research, the grant not only enables students to learn the history of women in higher education but also to ask questions about that history that they think are important to answer today,” said UR’s project lead Eric S. Yellin, associate professor of history and American Studies.

Yellin is teaching a capstone research seminar for senior history majors this semester on "American Women," and in the spring, political science professor Andrea Simpson will have her students explore the history of women at ACS colleges in her “Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies” course. 

Additionally, Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian Lynda Kachurek will work with students to introduce them to UR’s library and archival resources for researching the history of women at UR. 

“By examining elements of Westhampton College and UR’s coordinate system within the broader context of women’s education, students can develop a sense of connection to students who came before them,” said Kachurek.

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