2024 Women of Color Conference
Registration is open for this year’s conference, to be held Saturday, April 13, 2024, 9:00 am-4:30 pm om Avedisian Hall. Visit the URInvolved event page for more information and to register today.
Named after the first African American women to graduate from the University of Rhode Island (then known as Rhode Island State College), the Dr. Rose Butler Browne Leadership and Mentoring Program has included several components since its inception, including the LDR (HDF) 291 course, Annual Leadership and Mentoring Dinner, and the Women of Color Conference.
| Interested in LDR (HDF) 291? |
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| This course, offered every spring semester, is open to students of all identities and is eligible for credit towards the Leadership Studies Minor and/or Gender and Women’s Studies programs. Please contact CSLD Assistant Director Melissa Camba-Kelsay at mjcamba@uri.edu for information on enrollment. |
History of the Program
In the 1995-1996 academic year, an undergraduate student noticed that there were a high number of first-year Latina women leaving the University of Rhode Island in their first year. As a part of her efforts to try to determine the cause of this “phenomenon”, as well as a solution, she brought her concerns to the attention of the Director of the Women’s Center. From several discussions with the Director of the Women’s Center and other Latina students, De Mujer A Mujer (Woman to Woman) was formed to provide support for first year Latina women at the University.
After the first few meetings it was determined that part of the problem was that many of the women had difficulties adjusting to their new environment. It was then generalized that if Latina first year students were having problems adjusting to their new environment then African, African-American, Asian, Native American and other women of color might be having similar experiences. Therefore, the concept of mentoring first year Latina women was expanded to include all women of color.
This program seeks to address that expanded need. By expanding the program, two additional aspects of support, professional and academic, would be offered in addition to the social support that was already established by De Mujer A Mujer. The sponsors hope the program becomes an extension of the services already provided by Talent Development, the Women’s Center, The Center for Student Leadership Development and the Multicultural Center and plans to establish links within the community in the hope of providing a networking base. The mentor program was initiated in September 2001. The Rose Butler Browne mentoring program, the Women of Color Conference, and the curriculum development and delivery of the academic class has been the primary responsibility of the Center for Student Leadership Development since 2006.