DONOR IMPACT The Woman
DONOR IMPACT The Woman Behind Roe V. Wade Legal trailblazer’s collection at TWU will enhance research and teaching I n 1973, Sarah Weddington, a 26-year-old lawyer from West Texas, made history when she successfully argued the landmark Roe v. Wade case before the U.S. Supreme Court. When that case was overturned earlier this year, it — and one of the women behind it — once again became relevant to another generation of educators, students, journalists and researchers. Now TWU’s Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership and the Mary Evelyn Blagg-Huey Library will play a central role in future research about the historic case. Before her passing in December 2021, Weddington — a former TWU professor — donated her papers, photographs, books and other archival materials to the university. For much of the year, library staff have been busy organizing, inventorying and digitizing the millionplus documents that make up the Sarah Weddington Collection. They aim to Boldly go Learn how you can support TWU libraries at advancement@twu.edu make it navigable to students and researchers for generations to come. “Archivists have the gift of learning people’s stories and preserving them,” says Director of Special Collections Kimberly Johnson ’93, ’07. “That’s what we do every day and are working hard to do with this collection.” A TRAILBLAZING FIRST The collection paints a portrait of a trailblazer who made history: as the first woman from Travis County to be elected to the Texas House of Representatives, the first woman general counsel for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as an adviser on women’s issues to President Jimmy Carter. “Women have an enormous power to effect change, and Weddington’s collection is the preservation of her activism,” says Johnson. “Through the collection, you get to know her as a young girl growing up in West Texas, as a student in law school at UT … you see her at each stage in her life and career.” Weddington’s commitment to education and her belief that all people should have equal access to education are evident in the collection. “She also mentored TWU students, inspiring some to pursue law careers,” said the late Phyllis Bridges, a TWU Cornaro Professor of English, administrator and friend of Weddington who helped bring the collection to the university system. “When it came time to decide where she wanted to place her papers, Weddington had many offers. She chose to donate them to TWU.” A digital archive featuring selections from the collection will be available online next year. Special Collections staff have given talks to TWU students about the significance of the collection, and they’ve received inquiries from other universities about using the materials in history, women’s studies, political science and health classes. 6 TEXAS WOMAN’S
“TWU will always have a special place in my heart because of our shared interest in promoting leadership in women.” Sarah Weddington TEXAS WOMAN’S 7
