The University of Iowa Libraries

Alternate Extent Statement: 4 DVDs [d0041-0043, d0045]
2 videocassettes [V322-V323]
Photographs in boxes 1-2

Arrangement: Audiovisual materials: 25th anniversary retrospective, 2006 [shelved in digital collection: d0041] Celebration of Excellence Power Point presentation: past scholarship recipients, 2007 [shelved in digital collection: d0045] Women's Achievement Awards Ceremony, 1996 [shelved in videocassette collection: V322] Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women, 1995 [shelved in videocassette collection: V323]

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The records were donated by the Jane Weiss Scholarship Committee (donor no. 267) and the Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women Committee (donor no. 1133) in 1995 and succeeding years.

Preferred Citation: University of Iowa Celebration of Excellence and Achievment Among Women records, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:	Iowa Women's Archives
Address:	100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5068
Curator:	Kären Mason
Email:	lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

In 1982, the University of Iowa community began an annual gathering, then known as the Celebration of Academic Excellence Among Women, to present the Jane A. Weiss and the Katherine Orne Memorial Scholarships. Jane Weiss was an associate professor of sociology and women's studies at the University of Iowa from 1978 to 1981 who devoted herself to the study of women's issues in the classroom and community. Weiss died in an automobile accident in 1981, and the Jane A. Weiss Memorial Scholarship Fund was established soon thereafter through the University of Iowa Foundation.

In the early 1990s, the Celebration evolved with the addition of more awards and was renamed the Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women. By 2007, seven separate awards were given: the Margaret P. Benson Memorial Scholarship (begun in 2002), the Wynonna G. Hubbard Scholarship (begun in 1993), the Adele Kimm Scholarship (begun in 1992), the Ada Johnson/Otilia Maria Fernandez Women's Studies Fellowship (begun in 1993), the Jane A. Weiss Memorial Scholarship (begun in 1982), the Jean Y. Jew Women's Rights Award (begun in 1993), and the Distinguished Achievement Award (begun in 1994). The Katherine Orne Memorial Scholarship was awarded between 1981 and 1987.

The University of Iowa Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women records date from 1981 to the present and measure 8 linear inches. The records include programs for most years (missing 1986, 1987, 1991, and 1993), which list the recipients and presenters of all the awards and the keynote speaker, and photographs taken at the celebration beginning with 1994 (missing 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2003). The records also include a small amount of information about several of the awards given at the Celebration and the winning applications for the Jane A. Weiss Memorial Scholarship from 1982 to 1990. (Note: The Iowa Women's Archives originally held the Jane A. Weiss Scholarship Records as a separate collection, but it was incorporated into this collection in 2007.) In recognition of the celebration's 25th anniversary, a video presentation was put together with information about the origins and significance of the celebration; the video includes interviews with administrators, staff, faculty, and award recipients.

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
Weiss, Jane Alison

Corporate Names:
University of Iowa Celebration of Excellence and Achievment Among Women
University of Iowa

Dates:
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2009

Topics:
Awards
Women in higher education
Scholarships
Anniversaries

Geographic Names:
United States -- Iowa -- Iowa City

Genre/Form of Materials:
Administrative records
Archives
Video recordings
Photographs
Speeches