The Women's Resource Center, 311 Mary Martin Hall, opened its doors Thursday to students for its semi-annual open house.
"It's an opportunity for people to see what our facility is and to put faces with names of people they might see on the Web site," said Harriette Huggins, co-chair of the WRC Advisory Board.
The center, which is a division of the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, has been a part of Auburn for three years. It serves as an on-campus hub for information and resources related to women's programs, initiatives and issues
"We are all about advancing women's issues on Auburn's campus and in the community," said Amye Still, special projects coordinator. "We just want women to be empowered."
Offering educational programming, the WRC works to get students and faculty involved in bringing awareness to issues of concern for women.
In order to accomplish this, one of the center's main goals is to find other groups at Auburn and in the community who they can partner with.
This builds collaborative relationships within the student body, making the center an all-encompassing organization on campus.
"There's a kind of energy from bringing groups together that might not come together," said Donna Sollie, assistant provost for women's initiatives. "That energy is great and it generates new ideas."
From this energy comes what the center calls connection groups, which bring people from different sides of issues or areas of concern together for opportunities of growth.
The center also works hard to educate and build much needed skills within the student body.
"One of the major emphases that we have is on women's leadership," Sollie said. "We really work with all our students to help them develop leadership skills and to get them involved in a variety of leadership activities."
As part of the development of these skills, the WRC hosts the Women's Leadership Conference every year in March. This is a one day, student planned conference featuring workshops, discussion panels, and guest speakers that all work toward providing "women with a day of empowerment and provide the tools and connections to further develop their leadership skills," according to www.auburn.edu/wrc.
The center makes a point to be involved in many different issues relevant to women today. It works to bring awareness and attention to issues like domestic violence, sexual assault, women's health and well-being and hunger.
Some of the upcoming event include guest speaker Carolyn Cox with "The Silent Secret," "Line up. Stand up. Speak up ... Against Hunger: A Women's Issue" and "The Wage Project: $tart $mart," which will educate women on how to negotiate salaries. In January, the center will host its first Health and Wellness Chocolate Festival.
Most of the events planned are aimed at advancing women's awareness of issues that effect them as well as actively working "toward fostering a campus environment that nourishes a culturally diverse community, by acknowledging and respecting differences and encouraging acceptance and inclusiveness," according to the Web site.
However, the center will also hold an event to help students have fun before the homecoming game against Furman. The tailgating event called "Men Flippin' Burgers" is meant to shed light on men issues.
The center will also hold morning coffee breaks Dec. 9 through Dec. 11 for all students who need a break from studying during exam week.
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