{"id":769,"date":"2024-10-17T15:28:26","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T15:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/gallery\/?p=769"},"modified":"2024-10-17T15:28:56","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T15:28:56","slug":"exploring-womens-hawkeye-histories-with-the-iowa-womens-archives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/gallery\/2024\/10\/17\/exploring-womens-hawkeye-histories-with-the-iowa-womens-archives\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring women\u2019s Hawkeye Histories with the Iowa Women\u2019s Archives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In curating Hawkeye Histories | Sporting Stories<\/em><\/a>, Dr. Jennifer Sterling worked with the staff of the Iowa Women\u2019s Archives<\/a> (IWA) and the University Archives at the University of Iowa Libraries<\/a> to select collection materials that bring Iowa\u2019s athletic history to life. Many of those items help tell the story of Hawkeye women who broke barriers to make Iowa a leader on the national athletic stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Holland, associate curator for the IWA, assisted with the exhibit by helping to find materials that tell the story of women in Hawkeye sports. Holland enjoys discovering what she describes as \u201ceye-catching items that invite the viewer to imagine what it would be like to be there in that moment.\u201d Below, she shares three objects on display in the exhibition that demonstrate women\u2019s central role in Hawkeye Histories<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Table tents<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of Holland\u2019s favorite items in the exhibit is a pair of table tents dating to the 1920s, used at a dinner to mark seats for Pauline Spencer and Julia Darrow, both accomplished student-athletes. The tents, which belong to the C. Pauline Spencer<\/a> papers within IWA, are lettered and illustrated by hand. This sense of camaraderie and enthusiasm is one of the strongest throughlines connecting the IWA materials in the exhibition, according to Holland. \u201cThe time that must have been put into these custom drawings shows how much fun these athletes were having and how much they cared about their sport and each other,\u201d she says. [IWA 0627]<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Pins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This assortment of pins serves as a reminder of the many obstacles women athletes took on to combat gender inequality. Among Holland\u2019s favorites are those that represent the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). \u201cThe AIAW was constantly battling for women\u2019s equality in sport and for its own existence in an NCAA-dominated landscape,\u201d says Holland. \u201cI like to imagine women defiantly wearing these pins.\u201d She also appreciates some of the declarative slogans\u2014including \u201cI\u2019m a sportswoman and proud of it!\u201d\u2014that appear in the Holly Wilson Greene<\/a> papers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Christine Grant cut-out<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Christine Grant was the University of Iowa\u2019s first director of women\u2019s intercollegiate athletics, beginning in 1973 after Title IX was signed into law. She continued in the role for 27 years, working tirelessly to lay the foundation for today\u2019s record-breaking women\u2019s teams. During the height of the pandemic, when stands were empty at sporting events, this cut-out of Grant was used to encourage athletes. When sporting events re-opened, the cut-out was donated to the IWA. When it\u2019s not in Hawkeye Histories<\/em>, it\u2019s occupying a place of honor in the IWA reading room. \u201cI love having Dr. Grant in the Archives \u2018watching\u2019 us all work,\u201d says Holland. \u201cI\u2019m just really thrilled to be able to share her with others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Holland hopes that visitors to the exhibition will come away with a renewed interest in preserving pieces of their own history. \u201cWhat we have in the Archives is thanks in great part to Iowans who kept their papers,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019d like people today, particularly student-athletes, to think about what they are saving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s so much more where these materials came from. If you\u2019re interested in learning more about the history of women\u2019s athletics at Iowa, Holland recommends beginning with a visit to explore records and collections from the three leaders listed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more<\/h3>\n\n\n\n