Center for Women's History
Explore women's history through exhibitions, programs, scholarship, and immersive multimedia.
About the center
Our Center for Women’s History is the first of its kind in the nation within the walls of a major museum. At the Center, we explore the lives and legacies of women who have shaped and continue to shape the American experience. As a hub for scholarship and education, the Center demonstrates how women across the spectrum of race, class, and sexuality exercised power and effected change. Guided by a committee of distinguished historians and informed by the latest research, the Center features permanent installations, temporary exhibitions, and a vibrant array of talks and programs, enriching the cultural landscape of New York City and creating new opportunities for historical discovery.
"Miss Rose Bower of North Dakota" Woman playing trumpet, wearing "Votes for Women" sash. Gelatin Silver Photograph, New-York Historical Society.
Major funding for the Center for Women's History programs provided by
The Estate of Jean Dubinsky Appleton
Claudine and Fred Bacher
James Basker and Angela Vallot
Joyce B. Cowin
Deutsche Bank
Diana and Joseph DiMenna
Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation
Richard Gilder and Lois Chiles
Susan and Roger Hertog
Susan and Robert Klein
The Leonard & Judy Lauder Fund
Diane and Adam E. Max
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Jennifer and John Monsky
Amanda and Neal Moszkowski
Jean Margo Reid
Pam and Scott Schafler
Michelle Smith
Eric J. and Daria L. Wallach
Susan Waterfall
Leah and Michael R. Weisberg
Public funding for the Center for Women’s History
provided by
The New York City Council
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
Empire State Development and I Love New York under
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Development Council Initiative
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Alice Kessler-Harris gives the keynote at the 2016 Diane and Adam E. Max Conference in Women’s History, March 6 2016. Photo: Don Pollard
A committee of distinguished historians and experts will advise the Center for Women’s History during its planning stages and after it opens, ensuring that the latest scholarship is integrated into the narrative of both permanent displays and temporary exhibitions. These scholars will help determine how historical issues will be represented, and how to make specialist knowledge accessible for a general audience.
Scholarly Advisory Board:
| Alice Kessler-Harris, Chair | Columbia University |
| Jenna Alden | Bard High School Early College |
| Blanche Wiesen Cook | John Jay College and The Graduate Center, CUNY |
| Hasia Diner | New York University |
| Linda Gordon | New York University |
| Nick Juravich | University of Massachusetts Boston |
| Kathleen McCarthy | The Graduate Center, CUNY |
| Michele Mitchell | New York University |
| Jennifer Morgan | New York University |
| Premilla Nadasen | Barnard College |
| Virginia Sanchez-Korrol | Brooklyn College, CUNY |
| Joyce Seltzer | retired Senior Executive Editor, Harvard University Press |
| Carroll Smith-Rosenberg | University of Michigan |
| Amy Srebnick | Montclair State University |
| Deborah Gray White | Rutgers University |
Scholarly Advisory Committee:
| Barbara Balliet | Blenheim Hill Books |
| Carol Berkin | Baruch College and The Graduate Center, CUNY |
| Michele Bogart | Stony Brook University |
| Julie Golia | New York Public Library |
| Ramona Hernández | The City College of New York |
| Linda Kerber | University of Iowa |
| Annie Polland | Tenement Museum |
| Vicki Ruiz | University of California, Irvine |
| Virginia Sanchez-Korrol | Brooklyn College, CUNY |
| Lara Vapnek | St. John’s University |
| Nancy Woloch | Barnard College |
For New-York Historical Society:
| Louise Mirrer | President and CEO |
| Mia Nagawiecki | Vice President for Education |
| Margi Hofer | Vice President and Museum Director |
| Valerie Paley | Senior Vice President | Sue Ann Weinberg Director, Patricia D. Klingenstein Library |
| Marci Reaven | Vice President, History Exhibitions |
