Office Hours
As we return to in-person campus life in the Fall of 2022, the Bertha Harris Women's Center will be open for walk-in visitors from 10 am - 4 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Please come join us for a cup of tea or coffee and a chat. Virtual access is available via prior appointment in these hours or additional ones. To make an appointment for a virtual visit, or for any other questions, please email us at wmscenter@csi.cuny.edu or leave a voice message at (718) 982-2871. Be sure to leave your contact information and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
We are here for you – please reach out!
Welcome to the Bertha Harris Women's Center at the College of Staten Island!
The College of Staten Island's Women’s Center is dedicated to meeting the diverse needs of women students, to addressing gender-related issues, and to empowering women in order to strengthen the entire community.
Contact Information
Dr. Catherine Lavender
Director
Mission Statement
The Women's Center at the College of Staten Island embraces the following goals:
To improve the quality of life for women, especially women at the College of Staten Island, by exercising the resources within reach and striving to broaden the scope of those resources.
To encourage the personal growth of students through a variety of programs, services, events, counseling, and information based on resources of different departments within the College.
To foster a relationship between a women's organization within the College of Staten Island and other organizations within the surrounding communities of Staten Island and New York City. To encourage student participation in community service and outreach programs and to increase awareness of these programs on campus.
To create a network of students and faculty who will act a support system for each other here at the College of Staten Island, regardless of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, ability or age. This network seeks to function as a source of awareness of resources and events, a source of support for confidential exchanges and mentoring, and a source of advocacy for student endeavors and for dedication to current and on-going issues concerning women.
Our History
Staten Island Community College and Richmond College, which merged to become the College of Staten Island in 1976, founded some of the earliest Women’s Centers and Women’s Studies programs in the nation. The pioneering women who built these programs helped to establish equal access to higher education for women and men, as well as equal opportunities within CUNY and within American universities more generally. We now treat their accomplishments as fundamental rights.
The College of Staten Island has continued to support the achievements of women and to address issues of gender through its Women’s Studies Program, women’s conferences and colloquia, and, through the Bertha Harris Women’s Center which aims to serve a new generation of CSI students, faculty and staff.