The Women and Gender Resource Action Center began as the Trinity Women's Organization which addressed and supported women's issues. Today, the organization has evolved to support all genders and members of the Trinity Community, and is part of the Trinity Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, overseeing various organizations.

In 1972, a group of undergraduate women students formed the Trinity Women’s Organization (TWO), which was funded by the student government and had an office in the basement of Mather Hall. By 1977, students had successfully petitioned for space and funding for a Women’s Center. A subcommittee of President Theodore Lockwood's Special Council on Women, included Anne Boornazian, Kathy Frederick, Susan Kepnes, Susan Haberlandt, Dianne Hunter, Judy Rohrer, and Diane Zannoni, who investigated Women's Centers and petitioned for the use of the guest apartment on the third floor of Mather Hall. After receiving funding to staff and furnish the space, the Center opened in September 1977 with Ann Leventhal and Judy Rohrer as its co-coordinators.

The Center’s purpose was to serve the needs of female faculty, administration, staff, and students “out of the conviction that women have special needs, interests, and problems that are not always met in male-dominated culture; the Center is a separate space where Trinity women can gather as women.” The students formed a coordinating committee to work with the Center’s co-coordinators to plan the year’s activities and to help implement programming, which included lectures, workshops, discussion panels, and films.

In 1984, the Center hired Judith Branzburg, its first full-time coordinator and expanded both its programming and its purpose, which allowed the Center to become a more visible and integral part of the life of the College and of the Hartford area. It became an advocate for feminist issues, and to educate the campus community about women and women's issues, and serve the Hartford community through “educational, social, and cultural programming, referral services, information resources, events, exhibits, and lectures.” ¹⁾ During the 1980s, The Women's Center became home to various student groups including TGLBA, Trinity Women's Organization (TWO), Society Organized Against Racism (SOAR), and Community Outreach as well as one staff group (TOPS).

One example of this effort was the establishment of the Feminist Scholarship Review in 1991, a journal that featured contributions by students, faculty, and staff on various topics and was published until 2007. The second issue of the Feminist Scholarship Review, published in Spring 1992, includes an introductory text from Deborah Rose O'Neal, Visiting Lecturer in the Writing Center, which discusses “reforming language in order to promote respect for all members of our society,” namely, advocating for the singular they/them pronoun. O'Neal finishes: “The answer to “Who is in charge of the English language?” is, after all, 'we are!' And being in charge of the future demands thoughtful action.” ²⁾

In the years that followed, the Center maintained its active presence on campus and continued to build upon or develop new programming for student groups, alumni, and faculty. In 2003, the Center formulated an expanded new mission statement which included “redress of gender inequities; understanding among women of different economic classes, cultural backgrounds, and sexual identities; and the creation of a campus environment conducive to respectful interaction between women and men.”

In 2006, the Women’s Center became the Women & Gender Resource Action Center (WGRAC), with a mission statement to serve all of the Trinity community with a focus on women-identifying people: “through educational, social, and cultural programming, it seeks to promote self-determination and empowerment, awareness of women’s rights and issues; redress of gender inequities; understanding among diverse students and of the intersectional experiences of identities and communities; promotion of anti-racism, anti-classism, and body positivity; and, the creation of a campus environment conducive to respectful interaction between people of all genders and backgrounds.”

Currently, the Center is part of the Trinity College office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and oversees six student organizations: Promoting Healthy Awareness of the Body (PHAB); Students Expecting Consent (SECS); Masculinity Project (MP); Big Sister/Little Sister Program; Women In Business (WIB); and Ignite. The Center also provides resources about Title IX, Green Dot, and promotes identities through the Flag Project, encourages activism and leadership through volunteering and conferences, and sponsors lectures, programs, speakers, and events.

The WGRAC office is located on the second floor of Mather Hall behind the Washington Room and includes a lounge and library.

• September 1977 – Ann Leventhal and Judy Rohrer named co-coordinators
• September 1978 – Leslie Wright named coordinator
• Fall 1984 – Judith Branzburg named first full-time coordinator
• 1987 – Ann Menard named part-time assistant coordinator when Judith Branzburg became part-time affirmative action officer for Trinity
• Fall 1989 – Pat Reville hired as part-time interim coordinator after Judith Branzburg resigned
• January 1990 – Diane Martell hired as full-time coordinator
• Fall 1998 – Laura Lockwood M'95 hired as director
• 2008 – Funding received to hire a part-time assistant to the director

Women and Gender Resource Action Center

Women and Gender Resource Action Center (WGRAC) Records, Trinity College Archives.

Trinity College in the Twentieth Century (2000) by Peter and Anne Knapp, p. 382.

The Feminist Scholarship Review, Spring 1992.