Elect Her is an annual collaboration with Running Start designed to addresses the need to expand the pipeline to women running for office and to diminish the longstanding political leadership gender gap. It is the only program in the country that encourages and trains college women to run for student government and future political office. This training demystifies the campaign process and provides an opportunity for students to learn from experienced facilitators and communications experts, as well as to network with women who currently hold office in Connecticut.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month evolved from the Day of Unity observed in October, 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The intent was to create a national connection between battered women’s advocates who were working to end violence against women and their children. Every year, in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Violence Against Women Prevention Program (VAWPP) organizes The Clothesline Project. The Clothesline Project is a traveling visual display of t-shirts made by survivors and secondary survivors of sexual assault and/or relationship violence. The project was created by the Cape Cod Women’s Agenda in Massachusetts in 1990. Our display aims to honor survivors and remember victims. It is also intended to aid in the healing process for those who have been directly affected by sexual and/or relationship violence and raise awareness about the prevalence of these human rights violations happening right here in our own community.
We established this event as a way of connecting specifically with women faculty to welcome them to the community; to inform them about our services and programs; and to learn how we can support their research and teaching. The host committee consists of the faculty who serve on the Women’s Center Advisory Board and sub-committees, as well as some faculty “friends” of the Center.
Our aim of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is to ultimately prevent eating disorders and body image issues while reducing the stigma surrounding eating disorders and improving access to treatment. Eating disorders are serious, life-threatening illnesses — not choices — and it’s important to recognize the pressures, attitudes and behaviors that shape the disorder.
College women entering the job market need the confidence, knowledge, and skills required to negotiate their salaries and benefits. $tart $mart teaches them to do just that!
When students leave the three-and-a-half-hour $tart $mart campus workshop, they will have learned
- How the gender wage gap affects their lives
- How to develop a personal budget based on their target salary
- How to benchmark salary and benefits
- How to negotiate for their first salary out of college
April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the Violence Against Women Prevention Program (VAWPP) regularly sponsors a host of events to help engage the UConn community in this very important topic.
This rally, held annually by the Violence Against Women Prevention Program (VAWPP), is typically held in the Student Union Ballroom. The event begins with guest speakers and performances, then participants take part in a candlelight campus march, followed by a survivor speak out session. The event ends in the Women’s Center with a “coffee house” gathering. This event is free of admission charge.
LUNAFEST is a traveling film festival of award-winning short films by, for and about women that spotlights the work of a diverse array of talented women filmmakers with intelligent, funny and thought-provoking themes.
Proceeds from LUNAFEST benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and the Women’s Center.
The UConn Women’s Advance Conference is a professional development opportunity for female identified staff and faculty at all levels of the University that is designed to expand skills, increase knowledge, and enhance networks to promote a more inclusive and supportive working and learning environment at the University.
The Women’s Center, the Provost’s Office, and the Alumni Association annually sponsor the Outstanding Senior Women Academic Achievement Awards Ceremony, which recognizes women undergraduate and graduate students who have excelled academically within each school/college and demonstrated high achievement in research and service to the University community.
100 Years of Women Scholarship
The 100 Years of Women Scholarship Fund was established in 1992 to honor a high school senior planning to enroll in the University of Connecticut, or current UConn students who, as a role model or advocate, has advanced the role and contributions of women in society.