“Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors!”
—Abigail Adams to her husband, John Adams on March 31, 1776

The Remember the Ladies! Campaign aspires to raise $1,000,000, which will endow an archivist position dedicated solely to supporting the Archives of Women of the Southwest Collection at SMU’s DeGolyer Library. Inspired by the quote from Abigail Adams, the Campaign offers family and friends an opportunity to honor significant women in their lives while ensuring the preservation of the rare documents and materials that compose the AWSW Collection.

Many of us have a mother, sister, teacher, mentor or friend who has influenced our lives and whose contributions to society should not be forgotten. We will celebrate honorees by having their names engraved on a permanent plaque of commemoration mounted in DeGolyer Library. We are proud to have United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Serving as honorary chair of the Remember the Ladies! Campaign; Dallas businesswoman Ebby Halliday Acers generously made the inaugural gift, officially launching the Campaign in 2005.

The AWSW Collection includes the records of notable women leaders who acted as pioneers in social and political reform movements, businesswomen who paved the way for future generations to succeed in the workforce, influential women in the arts and voluntary service as well as papers recording the daily life of women in the 19th Century. Many organizations such as the Tejas Girl Scout Council and the YWCA of Dallas have kindly donated their historical records to the AWSW Collection.

The AWSW collection works in tandem with other University programs including the Annual SMU Women’s Symposium—which has been credited as the catalyst for the women’s equality movement in Dallas—The Women’s Center at SMU, and our nationally recognized Women’s Studies Program. These programs assist students in developing knowledge and leadership skills with regards to women’s issues as part of their undergraduate experience.

We hope you join us in our endeavor to preserve these precious documents and make them available, enabling future students, scholars, and researchers to see the great triumphs and achievements enacted by women of the Southwest.

For more information on how to pay tribute to a woman who has made a difference, please contact the development office for the Central University Libraries, Anne Brabham, by phone at (214) 768-7874 or via email at abrabham@smu.edu.