Mission & Goals

Our Mission:

To foster the social and economic development of Nevadans through the collection, preservation, and analysis of information on women in the state. The public dissemination of Institute research, within Nevada and across the nation, facilitates faculty research, builds leadership skills, and generates visibility for the University.

Institute Goals:

1. Stimulation of New Research

The Institute encourages new research by supporting faculty and students in a number of ways, including:

• Developing mentoring and collaboration opportunities for Nevada students and faculty. In 2001-2002, WRIN sponsored our first visiting scholar, Professor Jian Zhang from China's Women's College.
• Awarding internships for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students that provide critical experience for their transition from academics to career.
• Facilitating original research for use by schools, businesses, government agencies, and other public interest groups in support of policies that benefit women and their families. In 2002, WRIN joined the research team supporting the Status of Women and Girls in Nevada; a groundbreaking research project.

2. Communication of Research and Theory

The Institute supports the communication of important advances in research on women through a variety of means, such as:

• Helping to disseminate the research findings of NSHE faculty and affiliates by sponsoring Research Roundtables and Author's Receptions. Both create increased community awareness of new works published by our affiliates.
• Contributing to public education on women's issues through community forums, guest speakers, and WRIN's website.
• Publishing a variety of materials about gender issues and women in Nevada. The Institute has begn to build a collection of short biographies on Nevada women as well as enhancing our oral history webpages with sound clips from interviews. A long-term goal is to make Nevada's research on women more visible to the nation and, in turn, to bring national resources back to the state to support that research

3. Coordination of Existing Research

The Institute works to bring together researchers who share an interest in women's issues. This not only includes UNLV faculty but researchers from around the state, including faculty from the University of Nevada, Reno, and the College of Southern Nevada.

As a member of the National Council for Research on Women, we network with more than 100 other women's institutes from across the country. This affiliation provides Nevada students and faculty access to an abundance of information on current research trends nationwide, thus stimulating new ideas for study and offering increased opportunities for collaboration.