1972 The Women's Center officially received funding from the TCU Senate in December of 1972 for the upcoming fiscal year, a total of $700. This was $148 more than the Tufts Cheerleaders were budgeted.
1972 In the spring of 1972, students were given a room in the basement lounge of Miller Hall for their Center. The Tufts University Abortion Action Coalition shared this space. The two-day opening of the Center occurred on March 3 and 4, 1972. The first official activity was a workshop and open discussion by Fair Williams, the topic of which was "Women and their Bodies."
1973 The student group running the Center temporarily dissolved. It was again reformed in the fall of 1973 and was funded by the Senate.
1974 In April of 1974 the Center found itself in a basement room of Curtis Hall, with a special counseling room located on a balcony of the building. Gail Koplow, a feminist therapist, was hired as Coordinator for the Center. The position of Health and Sexuality Coordinator was created in November, 1974. November 23-25 was the debut of the first annual Women's Film Festival. The Rape Collective was formed, as was the "Center as a Center" collective to make policy decisions for the Women's Center. Over the course of the year, the Women's Radio Program, initially titled Oasis, began to be broadcast from WMFO.
1975 Out of the Ashes, a feminist literary magazine, was first published in the spring of 1975. Around the same time, public health nurse Ruth Shapshay was hired to work at the Center. Health and Sexuality Counselor Karen Edlund was hired in November of 1975, and the Center moved to the second floor of Curtis.
1976 The Women's Community School was established by the Center in 1976 to promote "non-traditional skills for women" in the community and was funded through tuition. This same year, Tufts also received the Mellon Grant to promote "a broader perception of women's roles" on campus.
1977 The first Women's Week was held in the Spring of 1977. In March of this year, the Women's Center Conference, coordinated by the Center, was held in Amherst. On April 2, 1977, a fire occurred in the Center. Luckily, damage was minimal. After the blaze, the Center relocated to the Bendetson Hall Annex in a room next to the Taberna, the former bookstore. Dean Tim Winant sought out a counseling room for the Center in Miner Hall and permitted the Center to remain in Bendetson.
1978 The Center received another large budget cut from the Senate, and was again in jeopardy of losing paid staff. In the Fall of 1978, the Center was seeking a Health and Sexuality Counselor; Linda Luz-Alterman was hired and was paid by Tufts Health Services for 10 hours per week for the entire school year. Her office was located in Miner Hall. The counseling room was located in Brown House.
1979 An advisory board of 15 students and faculty was established to guide the expansion of the Center. The Center received $4,075 from the Senate in funding for the next year, enough money to pay for a part-time Coordinator for the Center. The first "Take Back the Night" march was held on November 6.
By spring of this year, the Collective was looking to move the Center to Curtis Hall.
Fall of 1979 saw the Center relocated to Curtis Hall, this time occupying a lounge space behind what is now known as Brown and Brew. Peggy Barrett was hired as Health and Sexuality Counselor, and the publication, Women Centered, began a press run.
1980 Women in Wilderness Leadership Training Project was established in 1980 and was funded through a membership fee. This program promoted women's leadership. It is still run out of the Women's Center under the name Women Outdoors.
1985 The Women's Center became an administrative office. Peggy Barrett was hired as director for one-half of her time and as administrator of Women's Studies for the other half.
1987 Spring of 1987 was the first year of Beyond the Classroom, sponsored by The Women's Programs Board. In the fall, Public Safety received a grant of $18,831 from the Violence Against Women Act.
1988 The Center's most recent (and permanent!) relocation occurred in 1988, this time to 55 Talbot Ave. It was also during this year that the Red Button was first given out.
1999 In fall 1999, the Center received the first of four two-year grants, totaling over $1.3 million, from the Department of Justice for a Campus Violence Prevention Project (CVPP). From this grant, staff have created educational
materials for students about violence against women with specific cultural contexts, coordinated services for victims of violence, and trained police officers about sexual assault, stalking and abusive relationships. We have worked with diverse communities including Asian American, Latino, African American, LGBT, Greek and athletes.
2000 In the fall of 2000, the Latino Center moved to College Ave., and the Women's Center took over all of 55 Talbot.
2001 Vagina Monologues debuted at Tufts in Spring, 2001. It was produced by Lisa Goodman as a senior project. Preceding the Monologues is Vulvapalooza, created by Erin Dwyer.
The Student Sexual Assault Response Assistance, a rapid response student run crisis hotline was formed Fall, 2001.
2003 The CVPP collaborates with the Athletics Department, Group of Six and Women Studies Department to produce two Public Service Announcements addressing violence prevention and awareness.
2004 Production of three comprehensive brochures about sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking is finalized. The brochures are distributed annually to faculty, staff and students.
The first CVPP coffee house takes place in October. This became an annual fall event to address issues of sexism, racism, classism and homophobia. Each year over 30 student performers and groups join forces with an international slam poetess in front of an audience of over 300. The coffeehouse succeeded in bringing together diverse students displaying their creative voices for a unifying cause.
2006 After 27 years of service to Tufts, Peggy Barrett becomes the Director of Community Awareness and Prevention Programs at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Sue Gilbert becomes the Interim Director.
The Women's Board holds its first annual Leadership for Social Change retreat at the Tufts LOJ in Woodstock, NH.
2008 Steph Gauchel becomes Director of the Women's Center.