American Association of University Women, Naperville, Illinois Branch Records

About the American Association of University Women

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) began in 1881 with a meeting of 17 like-minded women who had defied society’s standards by earning college degrees. By the 2000s the organization had grown into a network of more than 100,000 women who influenced—and at times even shaped—the debate over equity in education.

In 1881 Marion Talbot and Ellen H. Richards invited 15 alumnae of eight colleges to a November 28 meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. They envisioned an organization in which women college graduates could band together to open doors of higher education to other women and to find wider opportunities to use their training.

The Association of Collegiate Alumnae, AAUW's forebear, was formally organized on January 14, 1882, with 65 graduates of eight colleges and universities as founding members. Their purpose: to unite alumnae of different institutions in "practical education work." Wesleyan University (Conn.) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were admitted as charter members.

The mission of AAUW in 2007 was advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research.

Source: AAUW web site, www.aauw.org, accessed October 1, 2007.

About the Naperville, Illinois, Branch

The American Association of University Women, Naperville, Illinois, Branch (AAUW Naperville) was chartered on April 20, 1956, with 28 members. The group met at North Central College’s Union to discuss issues such as education, social studies, creative arts and the status of women. Over the next several decades the branch sponsored a variety of educational programs for its members, became involved in the Naperville community, and raised money for the AAUW Educational Foundation. In 2007 the Foundation was the world’s largest source of funding exclusively for graduate women – supporting aspiring scholars around the globe, teachers and activists in local communities, women at critical stages of their careers, and those pursuing professions where women were underrepresented. One of AAUW Naperville’s notable fundraisers was an annual used book sale that began in 1968. The sale attracted book dealers and members of the public from around the area. In 1971 the branch established the Angeline Gale Memorial Scholarship, in honor of the branch founder. The scholarship was awarded annually to a mature woman in the Naperville area who was working toward completing a college degree.