In 1881 65 graduates of eight colleges met in Boston to form the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, later renamed the American Association of University Women. Today, AAUW is the second largest national women's organization in the United States and AAUW International branches have been established throughout the world. The primary mission of AAUW is: "To promote equity for all women and girls, lifelong education and positive societal change." AAUW members have been interested in research related to women and education since the organization was established. In 1885 AAUW sponsored a study that disproved the then prevailing notion that "higher education has a deleterious effect upon the health and disposition of young ladies." Two organizational units, the AAUW Educational Fund (EF) and the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF), have ably pursued AAUW's goals.
In 1888 the AAUW Educational Foundation (EF) was established to promote and administer the philanthropic activities of AAUW. EF is guided by the belief that women cannot achieve equality in society and the professions without equal access to educational opportunities. Through fellowships, grants and award programs the Foundation encourages women to acquire education and training in order to realize their full potential and by doing so to support the best interests of society. Since 1888, the AAUW Educational Foundation has provided fellowships for advanced studies to over 7500 women. AAUW contributed to the funding for the research of Nobel Prize winner Madame Marie Curie, writer Susan Sontag, former Cabinet member Donna Shalala, and teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe among others.
The
Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF) was founded in 1981 to raise funds to assist
11 female professors who brought a class action lawsuit against Cornell
University because they had been denied tenure due to sex discrimination.
Today, LAF is the nation's largest legal fund solely devoted to fighting
sex discrimination in higher education. Although LAF's formal mission
has always been to provide funding and a support system for women seeking
judicial redress for discrimination in higher education, its larger objective
is to bring about systemic change. Through LAF, members of AAUW work to
raise awareness of discrimination on campus, to help women who are fighting
discrimination, and to build a body of laws to eradicate discrimination
in academe and other workplaces.
LEE
COUNTY AAUW:
The
AAUW branch of Lee County has been meeting continuously since 1961. In
2000 the name was changed from AAUW of Fort Myers to AAUW of Lee County
to better reflect its merger with the former Cape Coral branch as well
as the membership of women throughout the county. We welcome as new members,
women who have graduated from an accredited college or university, worldwide.
Women who have not completed a college degree, but are interested in AAUW
and committed to its goals, may join as "Friends." Many of our
members work with other AAUW women at the state and national levels.
Membership in our branch affords us an opportunity to network with community leaders and women of varied backgrounds. Nine monthly meetings are held annually and feature educational programs addressing issues of interest to the members (see MEETINGS). In addition to our donations to EF and LAF, our branch has a significant impact locally. A $10,000 endowed scholarship has been established for women at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). Our first FGCU scholarship was awarded in September of 2000. A similar $10,000 endowed scholarship was established at Edison College in Fort Myers in 2005. Further aid to FGCU, organized by Gloria Whitesman, takes the form of volunteer work in the Department of Nursing. Marilyn Workman and her committee have established an AAUW student affiliate group at FGCU. In order to raise funds for our scholarship account, members support several fundraisers (see SPECIAL EVENTS).
