The University of Oxford is seeking an endowment of £4.2 million (USD$5.1 million at August 1, 2019) to create this historic Chair in perpetuity.

“For far too long women have remained in the background, and the world has suffered as a consequence. This is changing, but far slower than many of us would like. The Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair in Women’s History at Oxford will accelerate this change and help bring women to where they belong, in the forefront of history and society.”
                                                                              — Vice-Chancellor Louise Richardson, University of Oxford


The Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair in Women’s History will provide the leadership needed to ensure that women’s history is represented on the global stage and that the progress we have made in recent decades cannot be undermined. The new Chair will: 

— Signal to the world that the study of women and their histories is both valuable and legitimate,

— Encourage the most promising scholars to conduct cutting-edge research that is original in conception, methods, and vision, including women and their histories in the mainstream of the discipline,

— Create new schools of thought that do justice to women by providing teaching and supervision to future generations of scholars, and

— Embed this dynamic into the fabric of History at Oxford in perpetuity.

“History reveals the past, informs the present, and shapes the future. Yet the story has largely focused on men, including women only as an afterthought or in a supporting role. That must change. Oxford has embraced this challenge. The Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair in Women’s History will lead the way, emboldening a global network of scholars and students. I am both grateful and honored.”
                                                                  — Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th United States Secretary of State


Oxford has been a centre of learning for over 800 years, and establishment of this endowed Chair will secure the study of women’s history for generations.

The new Chair will encourage more young scholars to pursue a doctorate in women’s history. Students will benefit from the Women in Humanities Research Centre at Oxford, which will provide a wider intellectual context. The Centre for Gender, Identity, and Subjectivity in the History Faculty also organises seminars and reading groups to foster the study of women in the past and provide a lively intellectual atmosphere.

Oxford offers an intensely rich intellectual environment, unparalleled resources, and most importantly a body of acutely intelligent students hungry to understand our world and play a role in shaping our future.

The Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair in Women’s History will inspire and sustain a new vision for history, one in which women’s lives are central.

Donate to the Chair in Women's History Endowment online

Canadian donors can make their donation on the University of Oxford Development Office website