A Brief History of the Anderson Center
In 1996, members of the Idaho State University Professional Women asked President 
Richard Bowen about establishing a women’s center. Dr. Bowen appointed Dr. Janet Anderson, Dean of Student Affairs, to head a committee that would look into the possibility. The committee completed its work and submitted a proposal to Dr. Bowen, but the Center was not funded at that time.
As Dr. Anderson prepared for her retirement in 1998, the Associated Students of ISU (ASISU) sought a fitting means through which to honor her. ASISU, led by 1997-98 President Shane Ostermeier, chose to fund a Center through student fees. The Janet C. Anderson Resource Center opened in its permanent space in Graveley Hall in October 1998. Graveley Hall is named in honor of Lottie M. Graveley,
Since that time, the Anderson Center has experienced much growth. In December 1999, the Center established the Project Hope Advocacy Program through a grant from the Department of Justice, Office on Violence against Women. Following a grant renewal, the State Board of Education approved funding for a permanent, full-time time advocacy position in 2004. In spring 2002, the Anderson Center received grant funding from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to establish the Genesis Project, an HIV prevention and community-building project for gay and bisexual men. Genesis Project is now housed at Student Health. And in spring 2003, W.I.S.E., an HIV prevention program for women also funded through the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, joined the Anderson Center. The Anderson Center has also received funding on an on-going basis from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Rape Prevention and Education fund since spring 2003. This funding supports our Project Hope graduate assistant planning programming specifically for men, including our 1 in 4 Group.
The Center has also undergone a couple of name changes since its establishment. While originally named the Janet C. Anderson Resource Center, the name was later changed to the Janet C. Anderson Women’s and Men’s Center sometime during the 1999-2000 academic year. On December 9, 2002, President Bowen accepted a proposal by the newly-appointed Director, Rebecca Morrow, to amend the Anderson Center’s official name to the Janet C. Anderson Gender Resource Center. This was an important change as the inclusion of the word "gender" more accurately defines the specific focus of the Anderson Center. It also underscores the central importance of the Center’s recognition that both men and women should be involved in any dialogue concerning the construction of gender. We at the Anderson Center have worked hard to make it known as a place that is open to anyone who shares in our curiosity about women’s and men’s lives in our society today.
LOTTIE M. GRAVELEY
Lottie
Marva Graveley (née Johnston) was a native of Posey County, Indiana.
She was 
educated in Indiana and Kansas. On August 13, 1895, she married
John G. H. Graveley. The couple resided in Kansas until a 1902 move to
Mountain Home, Idaho which was then followed by a move to Boise in 1903.
Throughout
her lifetime, Mrs. Graveley was a strong supporter of education. She
taught for several years in Kansas and served as Treasurer for the
Boise School Board. In 1919, Mrs. Graveley was appointed to the Idaho
State Board of Education where she served two terms, extending her
tenure through 1929. She was the first woman to serve on the Board.
Mrs.
Graveley died in 1939. During that same year, the Lovering Construction
Company of Pocatello and St. Paul, Minnesota, completed Graveley Hall
on the Idaho State University campus. The hall was dedicated in honor
of Mrs. Graveley on February 21, The total cost of construction for the
building was $251,000.
According to the 1940 Wickiup,
“November 11 marked the opening of this new girls’ dormitory. Open
house and an informal dance was (sic) held just before Christmas. A
serenade of all the men’s dorms and the Sweetheart Formal were the big
events of the year.”