The National Association for Women in Catholic Higher Education (NAWCHE) was founded in 1992 by Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber, professor of sociology and director of Women's Studies at Boston College. The association's primary goals were to facilitate support among women working in higher education at Catholic institutions; to create, organize, and disseminate work for justice for those women; and to provide a forum for members to speak out on issues relevant to them, especially issues unique to Catholic institutions. In pursuit of these goals, NAWCHE hosted a symposium, titled "Making Connections," every other year beginning in 1992. The first symposium was attended by over 250 women from more than 85 Catholic colleges and universities, and subsequent symposia covered topics such as the history of women's accomplishments within Catholic higher education, the status of women and Women's Studies programs within Catholic colleges and universities, and forging new models for leadership and change for women in Catholic higher education. NAWCHE also published a newsletter, Connections, featuring articles and information about the activities of NAWCHE and its members, and about Women's Studies in general. About once per year, NAWCHE published a compilation of syllabi, submitted by members, from courses in Women's Studies and integrating women's voices into other subject areas.
While Hesse-Biber served as executive director, NAWCHE's administrative home was at Boston College, supported by the sociology department. In 2009, Mary-Antoinette Smith, professor of English and of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Seattle University, became executive director, and the administrative home of NAWCHE passed to Seattle University.
