This small record group represents the concerted efforts of University of Michigan faculty and students to increase research and teaching on women's health. It is arranged in a single alphabetical series that includes correspondence, informational materials, newsletters, a curriculum proposal, news releases and clippings, and pamphlets and program announcements. The largest portion of the record group consists of research grant proposals. The files of the Research Grant Review Committee, later known as the Research Development Committee, which reviewed and evaluated the proposals, include correspondence and evaluations of the committee. The record group also contains a collection of audiocassettes that include interviews with summer interns, and seminar and symposium proceedings.
In October 1991, Rees Midgley, M.D. and Sarah Newman, Ph.D. convened a group of University of Michigan faculty to explore potential support for the establishment of a multidisciplinary research and educational program focused on women's health. It resulted in the establishment of the Michigan Initiative on Women's Health in 1992. The Initiative was formed to stimulate interdisciplinary research and education on women's health. The founding units were the Reproductive Sciences Program, Center for the Education of Women, Women's Studies, and the Schools of Nursing and Public Health. Identifying ongoing research projects and other activities related to women's health, disseminating information on women's health and raising funds to support research and teaching initiatives are some of the components of the Initiative. A multidisciplinary program in women's health was established in 1993. With the financial support of the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Initiative began offering grants to university scientists researching various aspects of women's health in 1994. A fifteen member executive committee, ten faculty members and five students representing the founding units along with the Medical School, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and the Institute for Social Research governs the Initiative.
