The collections of the Arkansas Women's History Institute are housed at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) located at Bobby Roberts Library, Central Arkansas Library System. The collections are accessible to researchers in the 2nd floor research room:
401 President Clinton Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201
Monday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
The staff of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture may be reached by phone or by e-mail:
(501) 320-5780
CAHC@ualr.edu
About the Board Collection
This collection contains legal papers, board minutes, financial reports, fundraising correspondence and research on fundraising, grant proposals, financial records, board and officer correspondence, biographical information, press releases and news articles of the Board of the Arkansas Women's History Institute. It also contains correspondence and research papers related to the AWHI Susie Pryor Award and copies of award entries, and various materials related to the planning and production of the exhibit and handbook (both entitled), "Behold, Our Works Were Good."
The Arkansas Women's History Institute originated from the interest of Betsey Wright, then chief of staff for Governor Bill Clinton. Wright hoped an exhibit, similar to the Texas Women's History exhibit, could be created on Arkansas women. At the same time, an invitation was sent to Hillary Clinton, wife of Governor Clinton, to send a display on Arkansas women to the Women's Pavilion of the 1984 New Orleans (Louisiana) World's Fair. According to Francis Ross, the group's first president, "Hillary discovered how inadequate present resources were and approached a group of us to discuss the problem. Realizing that in order to accurately present the history of women in Arkansas some basic research had to be done, we formed the institute." The AWHI was founded in 1983 and incorporated in January 1984. The board composed of 18-25 women from around the state, meets quarterly.
The first major project was the creation of a traveling exhibit, "Behold, Our Works Were Good," which was circulated throughout the state in 1984 (and is still available for display through the Arkansas Humanities Council Resource Center). The exhibit was expanded as part of the state's sesquicentennial celebration in 1986. The Susie Pryor Award, in honor of U. S. Senator David Pryor's mother, was established in 1985. The $1000 award, bestowed annually, recognizes the best unpublished article on women history. The Institute then began work on a history of Arkansas women, which was published with August House in 1988 under the title Behold, Our Works Were Good, The handbook includes the traveling exhibit materials, a history of women in the state, and a bibliography.
Click here to view a finding aid for this collection.
About the History Collection
This collection contains various materials collected by the Arkansas Women's History Institute as part of their mission to collect, preserve, and increase awareness about the role of women in Arkansas history. The collection includes biographical material on women in Arkansas, research files concerning the exhibit, "Behold, Our Works Were Good," which was funded in part by the Arkansas Endowment for the Humanities. From the exhibit, the Institute developed a handbook entitled "Behold, Our Works Were Good": A Handbook of Arkansas Women's History, published in Spring 1988. [Note: The Arkansas Women's History Institute Board Papers, including materials on the handbook are in Collection UALR.0140.]
In addition to biographical and research materials, the collection also contains diaries and letters donated by various people. The UALR Archives serves as the official repository for the Arkansas Women's History Institute and materials donated to the AWHI are catalogued in Photograph Collection 67/Women in Arkansas.
Click here to view the finding aid for this collection.
401 President Clinton Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201
Monday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
The staff of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture may be reached by phone or by e-mail:
(501) 320-5780
CAHC@ualr.edu
About the Board Collection
This collection contains legal papers, board minutes, financial reports, fundraising correspondence and research on fundraising, grant proposals, financial records, board and officer correspondence, biographical information, press releases and news articles of the Board of the Arkansas Women's History Institute. It also contains correspondence and research papers related to the AWHI Susie Pryor Award and copies of award entries, and various materials related to the planning and production of the exhibit and handbook (both entitled), "Behold, Our Works Were Good."
The Arkansas Women's History Institute originated from the interest of Betsey Wright, then chief of staff for Governor Bill Clinton. Wright hoped an exhibit, similar to the Texas Women's History exhibit, could be created on Arkansas women. At the same time, an invitation was sent to Hillary Clinton, wife of Governor Clinton, to send a display on Arkansas women to the Women's Pavilion of the 1984 New Orleans (Louisiana) World's Fair. According to Francis Ross, the group's first president, "Hillary discovered how inadequate present resources were and approached a group of us to discuss the problem. Realizing that in order to accurately present the history of women in Arkansas some basic research had to be done, we formed the institute." The AWHI was founded in 1983 and incorporated in January 1984. The board composed of 18-25 women from around the state, meets quarterly.
The first major project was the creation of a traveling exhibit, "Behold, Our Works Were Good," which was circulated throughout the state in 1984 (and is still available for display through the Arkansas Humanities Council Resource Center). The exhibit was expanded as part of the state's sesquicentennial celebration in 1986. The Susie Pryor Award, in honor of U. S. Senator David Pryor's mother, was established in 1985. The $1000 award, bestowed annually, recognizes the best unpublished article on women history. The Institute then began work on a history of Arkansas women, which was published with August House in 1988 under the title Behold, Our Works Were Good, The handbook includes the traveling exhibit materials, a history of women in the state, and a bibliography.
Click here to view a finding aid for this collection.
About the History Collection
This collection contains various materials collected by the Arkansas Women's History Institute as part of their mission to collect, preserve, and increase awareness about the role of women in Arkansas history. The collection includes biographical material on women in Arkansas, research files concerning the exhibit, "Behold, Our Works Were Good," which was funded in part by the Arkansas Endowment for the Humanities. From the exhibit, the Institute developed a handbook entitled "Behold, Our Works Were Good": A Handbook of Arkansas Women's History, published in Spring 1988. [Note: The Arkansas Women's History Institute Board Papers, including materials on the handbook are in Collection UALR.0140.]
In addition to biographical and research materials, the collection also contains diaries and letters donated by various people. The UALR Archives serves as the official repository for the Arkansas Women's History Institute and materials donated to the AWHI are catalogued in Photograph Collection 67/Women in Arkansas.
Click here to view the finding aid for this collection.