UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Preserving the history of the Prince George chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women

From scrapbook albums to oral history recordings, six decades of work by the Prince George chapter of Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) are now preserved at the Northern BC Archives and Special Collections for future researchers.

When the CFUW Prince George chapter formed in 1963, social mores still expected many university-educated women to stay home after marriage and motherhood. The organization gave those women a place to gather, share their learning and put their skills to work for others.

Now the documents, including photographs, scrapbook albums, and oral history recordings, that tell the story of the CFUW in Prince George will be available to researchers interested in learning more about the organization and its impact in the community. 

"The CFUW records provide substantive evidence to these 60-plus years of community involvement and support work," says Erica Hernandez-Read, Head, Archives & Special Collections. "This archival material will support myriad future research objectives, including, but not limited to, the history of women's clubs in northern B.C., the history of regional social priorities and concerns, and the history of women's organized advocacy efforts."

CFUW is a self-funded national organization founded in 1919. It now has more than 6,700 members in 90 clubs across every province. Its clubs work to improve the status of women in all their diversity through public education, human rights, social justice and peace.

In Prince George, that mission has taken many forms. Through decades of community fundraising, the chapter established bursaries and scholarships for women at both the College of New Caledonia and UNBC. The Prince Geroge chapter also worked with other grassroots women's organizations to improve the lives of women and children across the region.

"Today all women are welcome to join CFUW clubs, but originally it was established as a way for women with a post-secondary education to gather, learn, share and support women, especially within the community of Prince George," says Jennifer Fox, club Archivist.

For the chapter, the choice of the Northern BC Archives and Special Collections in the Geoffrey R. Weller Library at UNBC was a natural one.

"With the CFUW commitment to education, we see the archives at UNBC as the most logical and appropriate place to house our papers and history," says Jennifer Fox. "We still have some boxes of items from the past 60 years that need to be sorted through and will donate these as completed. As our club continues to function, we will continue to collate and share our club's information and achievements."