Hotel and Travel

All conference presenters and attendees must be registered for the annual meeting. 

Registration Refund Policy
The National Women's Studies Association regrets that it cannot refund conference registration payments. 

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites

Will provide complimentary transportation to & from Pheasant Run.

Has complimentary wireless Internet access & refrigerators. Group rate is $119/night; — mention National Women's Studies Association.

Reservation numbers:
Toll Free:800-800-6509

Local: 630-665-3000

www.hicarolstream.com

Pheasant Run Resort & Spa
SOLD OUT
4051 East Main Street
St. Charles, Illinois 60174

1-800-474-3272

Fax: 630-584-9831

Click here
to book your accommodations on line at Pheasant Run

Visit the hotel website at:

http://www.pheasantrun.com/

Pheasant Run is a unionized resort hotel located in St. Charles IL, a suburb of Chicago.

The National Women's Studies Association has negotiated a group rate of $142 at Pheasant Run, which is where most conference events will occur, and $119 for the Hilton Garden Inn.  The hotels are across the street from one another.

With over 100,000 square feet of meeting space, Pheasant Run Resort is one of the premier meeting and conference destinations in the Midwest and has an impressive record of hosting, managing, entertaining and catering to groups in St. Charles and the entire Chicago metro area.

Hilton Garden Inn
SOLD OUT

Rooms still available at Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites (see above)

One of three pools at Pheasant Run
Plenary space
One of many food options

Travel Guides
CLICK HERE
For Travel tips and instructions

NWSA is providing lowcost transportation from O'Hare and Midway Airports on Thursday and Friday, and back on Sunday.

Fee: $18 each way

See registration form to sign up for this service.

If you would like to find
someone to share a room and/or a ride for the conference
CLICK HERE TO POST A MESSAGE

The Chicago exurb of St. Charles provides an excellent setting for our conference. Nestled in the scenic Fox River Valley and just an hour west of Chicago, St. Charles offers small town ambiance and affordability with big city conveniences.  Summers in St. Charles are characterized by arts festivals and free concerts, while the historic downtown features charming shops and specialty boutiques.

Catherine Orr
NWSA National Conference Chair

The National Women’s Studies Association is pleased to announce that it has joined the Informed Meetings Exchange (inmex), an organization founded as an offshoot of the labor organization UNITE HERE to research, analyze and disseminate information about the global hotel industry so that its member organizations can make informed decisions about how and where their meeting and convention dollars are being spent.

 
Membership in inmex will help to ensure that Association and members’ meeting dollars are being spent responsibly in working with hotel corporations that respect their customers and workers.  NWSA joins more than 100 other organizations in subscribing to inmex; NWSA has already begun to use inmex resources as it negotiates future conference contracts, including strengthening language on labor practices and disputes.

The Pheasant Run site of our 2007 meeting is a unionized hotel, as is the Millennium Hotel in Cincinnati, the proposed site of our 2008 meeting.  Here are some other factors NWSA considers when selecting a conference site:

Size of Facility: With more than 1,000 participants, 24 breakout sessions daily, and a 75-booth exhibit hall, NWSA conferences require large hotel spaces with ample meeting and sleeping rooms.

Local Support: NWSA relies upon an active local committee to provide intellectual, logistical, in kind, and direct support for its annual meetings.

Accessibility: NWSA considers whether the site is accessible for members and participants with disabilities, and whether the site offers affordable eating and housing options for students and low income participants.

Geographical Diversity: NWSA members are most likely to attend conferences when the meeting takes place within their region, thus the Association seeks to vary its meeting locations.

Of course every meeting site has its strengths and weaknesses, but I hope I have offered some insight into how conference locations are selected.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me at orrc@beloit.edu with ideas or suggestions about future conference sites.