I’m re-visiting notes from my archival visit at Radcliffe. What do I remember? Wanting to use every precious minute, while they were open, so I would inhale a Cliff Bar surreptitiously outside the restroom and then return to the work of poring through the archival matter. The librarians were helpful with my repeated requests and made me feel like what I was doing was important. I can’t say that for all of my archival visits. (As an aside, Duke had the best staff and I befriended one librarian, who now is in Miami, via San Diego, and Los Angeles). A big, warm hello to Cristina Favretto! One of the best librarians I have ever met! We met at the Women in Higher Ed conference in Minneapolis many years ago.

I need to back up and explain a few things. My dissertation examined women in Political Science, The Movement into the Academy: Women and Political Science.  When I came to Political Science, after having earned a BA in Women’s Studies and a MA in Liberal Arts and Sciences, at first blush I thought that feminist Political Scientists were not that radical. And during the early years of graduate school, I occasionally second guessed the decision to pursue a doctorate in Political Science. I knew that my research work would focus on the qualitative and not include multivariate regressions or the need for SAS or SPSS.

But, the focus on statistics and on work that I never really pursued pushed me harder into Political Theory and Gender and Politics. I’m glad that my dissertation chose me. I realised that the foremothers, if you will, in Political Science were not seemingly behind. With the archival work I found that they were fighting similar fights that feminist colleagues were fighting in different departments. In some instances, the struggles were worse, but never isolated. Here, I am referring to the Chilly Climate and other ways that women faculty were made to feel isolated in academe.

Playing academic detective in the archives and attending networking events within Political Science certainly humbled those initial beliefs about my sisters in Political Science. I was humbled to find that the establishment of the Women’s Caucus for Political Science (WCPS) in 1969 preceded most other disciplines caucuses for women. However, it was shortly thereafter in some instances weeks at the other disciplinary annual meetings that similar caucuses and status of women committees were founded. The WCPS was instrumental in being a resource for women in Political Science.

The women’s movement did not pass Political Science, as it was part of it, too. But, it was only through my archival research at Radcliffe, Smith and Duke that this full picture became clear. Sure, some books have examined particular campuses and their historic struggles, but by and large I imagine that most Political Science students think that the women’s movement of women’s liberation movement on campuses really took place in departments of Women’s Studies. Sadly, they would be wrong. There were coffee klatches at community centers, as well as campus student union buildings. As a matter of fact, it was during the heyday of the movement that Women’s Studies departments or programs were founded. So, there were allies across campus, as Women’s Studies was in its nascent form.

I am proud to be an alum of San Diego State’s Women’s Studies department, the first Women’s Studies department. But, I know that when I sat at the 30^th anniversary dinner in 1999 I felt proud to have benefited from the hard work of those initial five women who were brave enough to take a stand and form the WCPS. I must have missed the 40^th anniversary celebrations, but nonetheless I know that in my work and mentoring I and so many others continue their hard work. If anything, I have learned that there are important allies across campus and that there is a helluva lot of great work being done in Political Science.