A Guide to the Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals Records, 1965-2005
A Collection in
Special Collections
Collection Number
Ms1988-080
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Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
USA
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Email: specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu/
© 2011 By Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. All rights reserved.
Processed by: Harvey Clark, Special Collections
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from the Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals Records must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals Records, Ms1988-080, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.
Acquisition Information
The Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals Records were donated to Special Collections in 1988, 2003, and 2006.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals Records was completed in March 2011.
Historical Note
The Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals (OWA), an organization for women architects and designers in the San Francisco bay area, officially became incorporated in 1973. Originally titled, The Organization of Women Architects, it evolved from the informal gatherings of twelve women architects looking for a supportive forum to exchange their experiences in a traditionally male-dominated profession to a valuable networking resource and a mechanism to promote the professional and personal lives of its members.
The organization is run by a volunteer Steering Committee staffed by members and the programs and focus of the OWA vary with the interests and talents of the current members. Previous meetings and seminars have focused on job-sharing, flexible work schedules, childcare, portfolio review, public speaking skills, financial seminars, health care, and occupational hazards.
Over its lifetime the OWA has undertaken many important programs and actions for the benefit of architects and design professionals in general, not only women. It developed a Mock Exam to prepare and train young architects for the California State licensing exam, and it set up a health insurance plan (1976) for uninsured architects and designers. The Mock Exam was so successful that the OWA eventually sold it to the American Institute of Architects.
The OWA is also very in active in collaborating with other like minded institutions and helped to establish a new umbrella organization called California Women in Environmental Design (CWED). CWED's purpose was to lobby governmental agencies and provide designing women with public exposure through statewide conferences and exhibitions of their work.
from Horton, Inge "Presentation on the History of OWA at The Colegio de Arquitectos in Quito, Ecuador," 26 June 2003
Scope and Content
The collection contains documents, reports, agendas, membership directories, photos, slides, and publications concerning the history and activities of the Organization of Women Architects and Design Professional dating from 1965-2005.
Arrangement
The Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals Records is divided into the following subseries: Administrative, 1972-2005; Committees and Initiatives, 1974-1986; Newsletters, 1972-1991; Financial Records, 1975-1991; Alternate Media, 1971-1991; and Professional Women's Organizations, Documents, Pamphlets, and Clippings, (non-OWA), 1965-1995. Within each subseries they are arranged in chronological order.
Index Terms
- California Women in Environmental Design.
- Architects.
- International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
Corporate Names:
Occupations:
Local Subjects:
Contents List
- Box-folder 1|1-3;
1|6
Agendas and Minutes, 1972-1974; 1977 .
- Box-folder 4|6
Correspondence, Newspaper Clippings, 1974-1976 .
- Retreats
- Box-folder 1|4-5;
1|7-17 Box-folder 8|1-3
Agenda, and Minutes, 1975-1976; 1978-1988; 2002-2003; 2005 .
- Box-folder 1|18 -20;
1|22-23
Publications, 1989; 1990; 1991; 2000-2001 .
- Box-folder 1|4-5;
1|7-17 Box-folder 8|1-3
- Membership, 1984-1991 .
- Box-folder 2|19
Surveys, 1984-1986 .
- Box-folder 2|20-21 Box-folder 8|5
Directory, 1986; 1989, n.d.
- Box-folder 2|22
Mailing Lists, 1990 .
- Box-folder 8|4
Firms Directory, 1991 .
- Box-folder 8|12
Member and Member Firm Profiles and Packets, n.d.
- Box-folder 2|19
- Box-folder 5|1
OWA/CWED, Correspondence, Pamphlets, 1988-2004 .
- Box-folder 5|2-4; 5|8-9;
6|3 Box-folder 8|11
OWA/CWED, Conference, 1991 [includes Conference Minutes, Agendas, Committee Notes, and Correspondence] (see also OWA/CWED, Conference under Financial Records), 1990-1991 .
- Box-folder 5|5
OWA/CWED, "Women's Exhibit", Agendas, Correspondence, Documents, Letters, 1990-1991 .
- Box-folder 3|11
Publicity, Clippings and Blurbs, 1990 .
- Box-folder 1|21
20th Year Publication, 1993 .
- Box-folder 5|6
OWA/CWED, "Women's Work", Correspondences, Financial Documents, and Pamphlets, n.d.
- Box-folder 8|7
Stationary, n.d.
- Box-folder 3|1
Affirmative Action Employer Interviewing Program, 1974 .
- Box-folder 4|3
AIA, Affirmative Action Documents, 1974-1982 .
- Box-folder 3|4
OWA Health Insurance, 1976-1985 .
- Box-folder 3|5
OWA Museum Exhibit Committee, Charge and minutes, 1978 .
- Box-folder 3|6
Political Action Documents and Correspondence, 1978 .
- Box-folder 8|9
OWA, San Francisco, CA, Human Rights Commission, Correspondence, 1984 .
- Box-folder 3|9
OWA Scholarship, 1985-1986 .
- Box-folder 8|6
OWA Exchange Program Documents, n.d.
- Box-folder 2|17
Newsletter Index, 1972-1987 .
- Box-folder 2|1
-16
Newsletters, 1972 -1987 .
- Box-folder 2|18
Various Newsletters, 1988-1991 .
- Box-folder 3|3
Budget Documents and Spreadsheets, 1975-1986 .
- Box-folder 3|8
Finance Committee Budget and Reports, 1985-1991; Financial Steering Committee Document, 1987.
- Box-folder 6|1
OWA/CWED, Conference Financial Sheets, 1991 .
- Box-folder 7|6
Microfilm, Newsletters and a diazo duplicate, 1971-1987, n.d.
- Box-folder 7|3
Slides 0-102, 1980's .
- Box-folder 7|4
Slides 102-124, 1980's; Bogatay Architecture, "Women's Work" Exhibit, n.d.
- Box-folder 6|7
5.25" Computer Disks, Membership and Mailing Lists, 1987-1988 .
- Box-folder 7|2
Ephemera, Conference Badge, San Diego, CA, 1990; OWA Business Cards, n.d.
- Box-folder 6|7
Photographs, OWA/CWED, Conference Photographs, 1991 .
- Box-folder 6|8
Photographs, OWA, Photographs of AIA Exhibit, San Francisco, 1991 .
- Box-folder 7|1
Cassettes, CWED Conference(s), Cassettes 0-16, n.d.
- Box-folder 7|2
Cassettes, CWED Conference(s), Cassettes 17-19 and #A; #B, n.d.
- Box-folder 7|5
3.5" Computer Disks, OWA/CWED, Conference Graphics, 1991 .
- Box-folder 4|1
Women in Planning Documents and Pamphlets, 1965-1974 .
- Box-folder 4|2
-5
Professional Women's Organizations, Documents, Pamphlets, and Clippings, 1973-1987 .
- Box-folder 3|2
U.S. Department of Labor-Women's Bureau Publications, 1974 .
- Box-folder 4|7
California Commission on the Status of Women, Documents, Newsletters, San Francisco, Almeda, 1976-1987 .
- Box-folder 8|8
Newsletters from Various Environmental Design Groups, 1976-1992 .
- Box-folder 3|7
AIA Newsletter, Document, and Catalog, 1978-1987 .
- Box-folder 8|10
Women of Wurster, Organization Notes, 1978 .
- Box-folder 3|10
Board of Architectural Examiners Correspondence; California Licensed Architects Roster, 1986 .
- Box-folder 5|7
WIA/CWED Newsletters, 1991-1995 .
- Box-folder 6|5
CWED Conference Program, Santa Monica, CA, 1992 .
- Box-folder 6|6
CWED Conference Program, San Francisco, CA, 1994 .