 |
Monmouth,
Illinois
|
|
Regional and National News AAUW State Convention Report: Part 1 Lila Blum “Honoring our Legacy – Embracing our Future,” the theme of April’s convention, was communicated on many levels. The keynote speaker, Florine Swanson, Upper Midwest Regional Director, reviewed our organization’s history, pointing out that our 17 founding members in 1881 were revolutionaries in that they defied convention by going to college. They imagined that women could change the world with a college education. AAUW’s 135-year record is full of accomplishments, but she explained that changes are in order for tomorrow if we are to remain an organization with a strong voice on critical issues for women. Later, in the Town Hall Meeting, Florine and Jennifer Wilkin, a rising star in our state organization and Director-at-Large on the Educational Foundation Board, provided some of the devilish details of the strategic changes in the Association Bylaws. New IRS tax regulations will allow a change in corporate structure in which the Association can merge with the Educational Foundation rather than keeping these as two separate entities as they now are. The flurry of questions about the merger which followed provided a clue to what will take place in Phoenix in July at the Association convention before they vote on the Bylaw proposals. However, eventually we’ll have a more streamlined organization with fewer operational costs and overhead. The breakout session I attended, “New Faces, New Ideas Initiative” introduced the work of AAUW’s membership task force which is working on a new membership structure. It would provide for different levels of membership based on the level of giving. More attention will be given to college student memberships and to women in poorer areas who can’t afford membership. We learned more about what GenXers want in an organization and that branches which provide opportunities to learn, a sense of purpose, flexibility in ways to participate, and involvement in projects with permanent effects will attract more young members. Local scholarships were also mentioned as a means of reaching potential members and when we were asked if our branches give local scholarships, most of the hands in the room went up. For years we have been told that the Association discourages such scholarships, so this was an amazing revelation. I concluded that AAUW is on the right track in its new membership initiatives and that our branch offers many of the opportunities that GenXers are seeking. Now we must recruit them!
AAUW State Convention Report: Part 2 Marilyn Van Ausdall I attended the breakout session “Building a Culture to Call our Own: Our Power as Women in the Audience.” Jan Huttner of Chicago, and managing editor of “FILMS FOR TWO: The Online Guide for Busy Couples,” again encouraged attendees to help in the battle to break through the “celluloid ceiling” which makes it very difficult for women to get their movies made. One idea was to take a list of films recommended by WITASWAN to our favorite video rental sources and request that they be made available for rental. More information regarding this initiative (Women in the Audience Supporting Women Artists Now) can be found at http://www.aauw-il.org/WITASWAN/index.html.
Martha Richards from Northampton, Massachussetts, also spoke at this session. Martha is founder and executive director of The Fund for Women Artists. Martha said, “The Fund for Women Artists is founded on the belief that women artists have the power to change the way women are perceived in our society. We want to make sure that artists have full access to the financial and other resources they need to do this crucial work. We focus mainly on women in theatre, film, and video, and we have two main goals: To Challenge Stereotypes — We challenge gender and other stereotypes by supporting the creation and appreciation of art that reflects the full diversity and complexity of women's lives. To Increase Opportunities — We advocate for women artists to be paid fairly and to have more opportunities to make a living from their creative work.”
To donate to this cause, or to obtain more information about it, you can visit www.WomenArts.org.
Convention News AAUW’s 44th National Convention will take place in Phoenix, Arizona, from June 29 to July 2, 2007. AAUW's convention provides opportunities for individuals to network, educate themselves about AAUW programs, and hear inspiring speakers. Learn more about incentive programs and register now.
Convention Speakers Announced One of the most exciting things about attending an AAUW convention is the opportunity to hear dynamic and informative speakers. This year's program is already filling up with a diverse selection of participants Mae Jemison, the 2007 AAUW Achievement Awardee, will talk about her experiences as an astronaut, author, entrepreneur, and physician. Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, the co-authors of Class Action: The Story of Lois Jensen and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law, will receive the 2007 Speaking Out for Justice Award. Bingham and Gansler's book inspired the critically acclaimed movie North Country.
Greg Mortenson,
founder of the Central Asia Institute and Pennies for Peace and
author of the best-selling biography Three Cups of Tea,
Renee Poussaint, Emmy Award–winning journalist and cofounder and CEO of the National Visionary Leadership Project, will speak at the intergenerational plenary, and the plenary on organizational change will feature Sherry Schiller, president of the Schiller Center and an expert on helping leaders and organizations envision their futures. Corrections to Candidate Information In the recent issue of AAUW Outlook (Spring/Summer 2007), the information on page C19 about the number of positions available for Director-at-Large on the Association Board of Directors is incorrect. The correct number of positions is five, not three. Also, on page C21, the candidate for South Atlantic Regional Director should be listed as L. Carol Newnam (not Newman). We apologize for these errors. The correct information has been added to the website and will appear in the convention program book. We will also include a notice in the upcoming delegates mailing, and send a clarification to the Association Director-at-Large candidates.
Got Sick Days? Healthy Families Act Reintroduced In March, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Healthy Families Act, a bill that would provide full-time employees with seven paid sick days per year to be used for their own medical needs or to take care of a child, spouse, or parent who is ill. Part-time employees would receive a prorated share of paid sick days. Currently, nearly half of all private-sector workers, including nearly 22 million women, have no paid sick days, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. If you have not already done so, please use AAUW’s Two-Minute Activist online to urge the members of your congressional delegation to co-sponsor and support the Healthy Families Act. For more information, you can also read AAUW’s media release about the bill’s reintroduction. The National Girls Collaborative Project AAUW’s National Girls Collaborative Project is designed to connect projects that are devoted to increasing opportunities for girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) around the country. The project’s online directory of programs helps individuals find activities in their region, and it allows program leaders to learn about other programs in their area and find ways to collaborate. In each region, 15 to 20 mini-grants of up to $1,000 each will be available, starting in the fall, to collaborations of two or more organizations that apply to work together to increase the number of girls in STEM. For more information about the National Girls Collaborative Project, please visit www.pugetsoundcenter.org/ngcp. To register your STEM program in the NGCP National Program Directory, click on the Directory tab at the top. To learn more about AAUW's role in the NGCP, please go to www.aauw.org/ education/ngcp. We welcome your comments on AAUW Mission in Action. Please send feedback to editor@aauw.org.
AAUW-IL State News Nancy K. Daugherty President, AAUW-IL, Inc. The 83rd AAUW-IL, Inc. Convention is now behind us. I want to thank all of the State Board members for their hard work and dedication and the branch members in the Bloomington Normal Branch and District 2, as part of the Local Arrangments Committee, who helped in bringing you another successful Convention. The evaluations will be analyzed to determine ways to bring you more next year. I also thank all of my friends, who were so kind to sing Happy Birthday to me on Friday evening. They were also very kind to not insist that I tell my real age. So, it is still my secret. New Research Report Scheduled for Release on Equal Pay Day Behind the Pay Gap, a new report from the AAUW Educational Foundation, was released on Equal Pay Day, April 24, 2007. The report shows that even when women and men hold similar college credentials and work full time in the same fields, women earn less than men do as early as one year after graduation. The gender pay gap continues to widen in the first 10 years after graduation. An audio recording of a “telebriefing” on the new research report and an update on AAUW’s other Equal Pay Day efforts are available on the website for AAUW members to hear.
AAUW-IL, Inc. has rented a sales booth for the National Convention and half of the table space is available for branches, who wish to sell items. If your branch is interested in bringing items for sale to Phoenix, you can contact Andi Danis to arrange for a time slot for your sales. If your proceeds are given directly to a 501(c)3 such as Educational Foundation or LAF, you must provide appropriate verification for this purpose. If you use the funds for operations, then you are required to collect and remit sales tax to the City of Phoenix and State of Arizona. Permits with fees are required, and 4 weeks or longer are needed for these to be obtained. Please contact Andi Danis or me immediately, if you are interested, so the forms can be sent to you. danishouse@sbcglobal.net Hope to see many of you in Phoenix. Linda Henning Cohen is coordinator of the Illinois delegation, and she needs to be informed that you are going to Phoenix. Please contact Linda as soon as possible at Linda1211@aol.com
|
|
