News & Blog

Join UCF Libraries and Kimberly Wilmot Voss, Nicholson School of Communication, for a Women’s History Month Author Talk titled “Florida Fashions in the 1950s and 1960s” on Friday, March 25, 2022!

For decades, most metropolitan newspapers had fashion editors in their women’s pages and some of the best of these journalists were in Florida. Areas like fashion journalism were where women were making their mark for decades – attending fashion shows, writing about local stores and guiding their readers on fashion trends. They covered changes in swimsuit regulations, the wearing of pants in the workplace and the rising of skirt-lengths. These editors served as social critics and community connectors – while also having lots of fun.

Register for this free virtual event on Zoom

For further reading, check out a copy of Dr. Voss’s book on which this presentation is based,
Newspaper Fashion Editors in the 1950s and 60s: Women Writers of the Runway, from UCF Libraries.

Other UCF Libraries’ owned books by Dr. Voss:

Friday, March 26, 2021 at 3pm

Join a virtual panel of women academics from disciplines across the University of Central Florida as they discuss the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their teaching, scholarship, service loads and personal lives.

Panelists:
Dr. RoSusan Bartee, Educational Leadership and Higher Education
Dr. Nessette Falu, Anthropology
Dr. Amelia Lyons, History
Dr. Leandra Preston, Women’s & Gender Studies
Dr. Linda Walters, Biology

Watch the event recording on YouTube with closed captions or STARS with open captions.

Panel hosted by Megan Haught, UCF Libraries, in partnership with UCF Women’s & Gender Studies program.

Women’s History Month began as a week-long celebration in Sonoma, California in 1978 which was centered around International Women’s Day on March 8. A year later during a women’s history conference at Sarah Lawrence College, participants learned how successful the week was and decided to initiate similar in their own areas. President Carter issued the first proclamation for a national Women’s History Week in 1980. In 1987, Congress (after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project) passed Pub. L. 100-9 designating March as Women’s History Month. U.S. Presidents have issued proclamations on Women’s History Month since 1988.

The Libraries will be hosting two virtual events to celebrate Women’s History Month for 2021. The first is a talk by Nicholson School of Communication faculty member, Dr. Kimberly Voss, called “Make No Mistake, Florida is Crucial”: Sen. Lori Wilson and the Equal Rights Amendment, which discusses efforts to ratify the ERA in Florida. The second is a panel discussion called Women & Academia in the Time of COVID where five UCF faculty and administrators will discuss the impact of the COVID pandemic and remote learning on their teaching, scholarship, service loads and personal lives. Both events are free and open to the public. Click on the links to register to attend.

We have created a list of books about women, both history and fiction, suggested by staff. Please click on the read more link below to see the full book list with descriptions and catalog links. And don’t forget to stop by the John C. Hitt Library to browse the Featured Bookshelf on the main floor near the Research & Information Desk for additional Women’s History Month books.

Featured Bookshelf: 2021 Women’s History Month

March marks Women’s History Month and St. Patrick’s Day, and the Downtown Campus Library is celebrating. 

Our Women’s History Month exhibit features four women who have significantly contributed to four of the fields that Downtown Campus students study: Urban Planning, Culinary Sciences, Health Services, and Digital Media. Come see who we have featured and read about their inspiring careers. 

Included in the festivities is a paper doll craft. We have different body types to choose from, with clothing stencils that correspond to each body type. You can trace the stencils onto various patterned paper, or you can completely design your own style. Come make a mini-me or a replica of a woman who inspires you. 

If you stop by the Library during March, don’t forget to make a wish on a four-leaf clover. Our Library Leprechaun might just grant you one desire. 

All WomanFest 2020 events for March 19 will be rescheduled for the Fall 2020 semester. Date to be announced in a few weeks.

UCF Libraries and the Women’s & Gender Studies Program are proud to announce the 4th annual WomanFest! Join us for four events featuring amazing women from around campus and in history.

Thursday, March 19, 2020
John C. Hitt Library 223

Women in Academia panel
10:00 – 11:00 am

UCF faculty members Dr. Linda Walters (Biology, Center for Success of Women Faculty), Dr. Amelia Lyons (History), Dr. Nessette Falu (Anthropology), and Dr. RoSusan Bartee (Educational Leadership and Higher Education) discuss their career paths, how to find a work/life balance, and their struggles faced and battles won as women in higher education. Panel moderated by Dr. Leandra Preston-Sidler (Women & Gender Studies).

Women and Body Image
12:00 – 1:30 pm

The Renfrew Center for Eating Disorders will provide lunch and a presentation on body image, health, and wellness. Event is limited to 50 participants. Please RSVP at: Eventbrite: Women and Body Image

Women’s History Trivia Contest
2:00 – 3:30 pm

How much do you know about women’s history? UCF Libraries and the Women & Gender Studies Program are hosting a rousing pub-style trivia game featuring questions about interesting women in history, female firsts at UCF, and songs by well-known female musicians. Make new friends as we play in teams. Will you come out on top?

Women & Leadership with Rep. Anna Eskamani
6:00 – 7:00 pm

Florida Representative and UCF alumnae Anna Eskamani discusses women, politics, activism and leadership.