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American Association of University Women records
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In the late 1870's, such institutional higher education as there was for women focused on domestic skills and the social graces and usually stopped at the finishing school level. Boston University's School of Liberal Arts, in the middle of its 1876-77 term, reluctantly admitted Miss Marion Talbot to its freshman class. In spite of beginning her work one term late, Marion completed her A.B. degree with her class in 1880. Finding then that the only types of work she was interested in were closed to her, she embarked on a Master's degree program. Meanwhile, her mother, wife of Dr. I. Tisdale Talbot, Dean of Medical School of Boston University, noting other young women in the same situation, encouraged them to organize themselves for mutual support and perhaps some positive achievements in the areas of education and post-degree employment. Consequently, on January 14, 1882, seventeen young women representing Oberlin, Vassar, University of Michigan, Cornell, University of Wisconsin, Boston University, Smith, and Wellesley, organized the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. Marion Talbot was elected secretary, a position she held for fourteen years. Programs were usually a paper presented by a member, with discussion following. In less than two years a Chicago branch was formed, followed by branches in Washington, D. C., and Philadelphia. Also, a plan was devised for evaluating the various academic institutions from which applicants might come. One particularly important criterion was that 'every opportunity, intellectual and personal, should be open to women equally with men.' In time, a Western Association of Collegiate Alumnae and a Southern Association of College Women came into being. The latter merged with the original Association of Collegiate Alumnae in 1921, forming an organization which took the new name of American Association of University Women. It had a greatly expanded organizational structure and membership, but, as still prevails, the same objectives of educational equity for women and positive societal change. On January 8, 1925, a group of young Savannah women met at the home of Mrs. Mills B. Lane to examine the feasibility of organizing a Branch of American Association of University Women. This activity resulted in the official recognition of the local Branch by the national Association on December 9, 1925, with twelve charter members. The first officers were Miss Jane Wright, President, Mrs. Kingman White, Vice-President, Miss Virginia Hitch, Secretary, and Miss Isabelle Harrison, Treasurer. Although the prevailing type of program in the early years was the invited speaker, the Branch in 1934 initiated a form of self-education through the organization of study groups whose subjects ranged over a wide area of academic disciplines. Among the Branch's earliest projects were 'the formation of a scholarship fund to lend to worthy girls,' and a gift to the national Fellowship Fund (now the Educational Foundation). Probably the all-time most spectacular achievement of the branch was hosting the 1937 National Convention of AAUW in Savannah.
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This collection consists of the records of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The collection is arranged into five series: AAUW - Savannah, GA branch, AAUW - State (GA) division, AAUW - Regional (So. Atlantic) organization, AAUW - National ('Association') organization, and IFUW - International Federation of University Women. Series 1, records of the Savannah, Georgia, branch, is the largest and most informative series, but the other series reveal some of the activities of AAUW at the state, regional, national, and international levels. Summaries of the series are listed below:
Series 1 focuses on the operations of the Savannah (GA) branch of the AAUW from its beginning in 1925. Included in the series are history files, records generated by branch officers, committees, and committee chairs, special projects, news publications, yearbooks, unmounted pictures and clippings, and scrapbooks. The scrapbooks are particularly rich resources and fill in many gaps in the unbound papers.
Series 2 consists of records of the Georgia State Division of AAUW. It includes records generated by division officers, records regarding the Action on Issues campaign, miscellaneous division records, and division publications.
NOTE: Significant in both state and national series are papers generated by members of the Savannah branch who also held office at the higher levels.
Series 3, a very small series, focuses on the Regional (So. Atlantic) organization and incorporates records of several South Atlantic Regional Conferences and related activities.
Records in Series 4 cover activities of the national offices of AAUW ('The Association'). Of particular value are the records about the Savannah branch hosting the 1937 National Convention. Other materials focus entirely on Association-centered activities and include a history published by Talbot and Rosenberry of the national AAUW, miscellaneous records, national publications in support of specific issues or administrative groups (e.g., the Educational Foundation), membership records, commercial offerings, and charters, bylaws, and policies.
Series 5 contains records of operations of the International Federation of University Women (IFUW). These represent the decades of the 1950s and 1990s.
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Copyright has not been assigned to the Georgia Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Division of Library and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Georgia Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
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GHS 0962, American Association of University Women records, 1925-1996. Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia.
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