Women's Research and Resource Center

Pioneering Work

A pioneer in teaching, research and advocacy, the Women’s Research and Resource Center (WRRC) nurtures our students' critical thinking about many issues, including human rights, healthcare and leadership development. By raising $1 million to match the Ford Foundation's million-dollar challenge grant, Spelman was able to advance the Center's pioneering work in teaching and research.

Our History

In 1981, Spelman was awarded a grant from the Charles Stuart Mott Foundation to establish the Women’s Research and Resource Center. The goal was to provide an academic unit of the College that focused on curriculum development in Women’s Studies, research by and about women of African descent, and community outreach.

The Women’s Research and Resource Center is the first women’s research center at a historically Black college and the first one to offer a women’s studies major. Over the course of its 35-year history, with sustained support from the Ford Foundation, the Center has facilitated faculty and student leadership development; collaborated with other departments/programs on and off campus to establish new courses (most recently Black queer studies) that address issues of gender and race; established international linkages with universities outside the U.S. to increase their capacity to promote faculty and student development; and hosted a number of events that explore the lives of African and African-descended women in a variety of cultural contexts.

A Tribute to Toni Morrison at Spelman College

The Spelman College Women's Research and Resource Center, in collaboration with the Spelman UNCF/Mellon Programs and the UGA Low-Residency MFA Program, hosted A Tribute to Toni Morrison on Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. The program included readings and performances by Herman Beavers, Pearl Cleage, John Holman, Tayari Jones, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Shay Youngblood, Gina Breedlove.

Read an article about the tribute: Crafting the Pieces Of Morrison’s Puzzle!

Gender and Queer Studies

Spelman Announces Queer Studies Chair Named for Audre Lorde

November 2019
Jon Stryker Audre Lorde GiftSpelman College is establishing an endowed chair in Queer Studies thanks to a $2 million matching gift from philanthropist Jon Stryker. The first-ever chair of its kind at a historically Black college or university, the position is named for the celebrated poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde. A fundraising campaign to raise the matching $2 million will be implemented for the position, which will be housed in Spelman’s Women’s Research and Resource Center.

Stryker selected Lorde as the chair’s namesake because of her groundbreaking and life-long commitment to civil rights and progressive social change. She had a strong connection to Spelman, speaking on campus on several occasions and donating her personal papers to the Spelman Archives in 1995. The College received a grant in 2009 from the Arcus Foundation, founded by Stryker, which opened Lorde’s papers to students and scholars.

“Spelman College has long been at the forefront of LGBTQ inclusion and education among HBCUs,” said Stryker. “By supporting this chair, the goal is to engage and empower the next generation of LGBTQ advocates to create a better world.”