About
The Women’s Center, a unit of the Office of the VIce Chancellor for Organizational Transformation (VCOT), provides education and support to all members of UC San Diego regarding gender issues, with the goal of promoting an inclusive and equitable campus community. We advance gender equity through the resources that we provide, the educational opportunities that we facilitate, and the dynamic community space that we create.
Our Resources
- Space to meet, learn, and grow
- Educational programs to enrich your UCSD experience
- Information and referrals
- Volunteer and internship opportunities
- Training and consultation
- Leadership development opportunities
- Comfortable living room to nap, study, and be inspired
- Outdoor patio and balcony space
- Community kitchen with fridge and microwaves
- Library with books and magazines on gender, diversity, and family issues
- Computer kiosks
- Single occupancy gender-neutral restroom
- Family-friendly space with baby changing stations
- Private lactation room for nursing mothers
The Women's Center is accessible to people with disabilities. There are multiple parking spaces for people with disabilities located near the Center in parking lot P113. If you have questions or concerns about accessibility, or would like to request accommodation, please contact Jess Geipel.
Service animals specifically trained to assist a person with a disability are welcome.
History
In 1973 the Women’s Resource Center collective (WRC) began as a student organization in response to growing concerns by women students that their unique needs were not being identified and addressed by the University.
The WRC continued to be run by student volunteers into the ‘90s, making UC San Diego the only UC at the time without paid staff and permanent funding, despite sustained efforts to establish a Women’s Center on campus. Beginning in 1990, the WRC and the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women began jointly advocating for the development of a Women’s Center at UCSD.
The planning committee advocated for a Women’s Center that was inclusive, serving undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, staff, and faculty.
The University of California, San Diego's Women’s Center was finally approved in 1995, and the efforts and hard work of so many were realized on October 14, 1996 when the Women’s Center opened its doors, creating a welcoming space that fosters awareness, education and community at UCSD. We continue to build on the work of the many who have advocated for, and contributed to, the Women’s Center over the years.
Resilient Roots and Feminist Futures: The Fight for a UC San Diego Women’s Center
This Zine, Resilient Roots and Feminist Futures: The Fight for a UC San Diego Women’s Center, is a student project created by a Women’s Center Intern, Jacqueline Pham (2024-2025), to tell the story of the role of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) collective in the creation of UC San Diego’s Women’s Center. The UC San Diego Women’s Center is a campus community center, which opened its doors to serve all students, staff, and faculty at UC San Diego in 1996. It is distinct from the WRC collective described in this Zine.
The WRC collective was a student organization that was created in the 1970s. It played a significant role in advocating for the creation of a Women’s Center at UC San Diego. The WRC collective existed as a student-run collective for over 20 years. Over those twenty years, the WRC collective consistently advocated for the establishment of a Women’s Center at UC San Diego. This Zine recognizes that the Women’s Center, which welcomes and serves all Tritons, would not exist without the steadfast advocacy and work of the WRC collective and others.