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An AAUW Anniversary Project

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If you want to see AAUW’s birthday celebrated in your hometown’s newspaper, here’s a project. Mary

On November 28, AAUW will celebrate its 125th anniversary.In 1881, 17 like-minded women, who had defied society’s standards by earning college degrees, met in the home of Mariann Talbot in Boston, MA. There 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. In 1882, the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, AAUW’s forebearer, was formally organized with 65 graduates of eight colleges and universities as founding members. Their purpose: to unite alumnae of different institutions in “practical education work.”Today, what started out as the Association of Collegiate Alumnae in 1881 has grown into a powerful network of more than 100,000 women who have influenced and shaped the debate over equity in education. As AAUW celebrates its 125th anniversary, it is important to recognize the significant gains which women and girls have made in the fight for equity, but it is also important to remember that the work of AAUW is far from complete — because equity is still an issue.