An eating disorder derailed Alison Franklin’s first attempt at college, causing her to drop out of Penn State in 2003. By the time she was ready to return, she was married with two toddlers.
“It’s not cheap to go back to school, especially when you have a family,” she says.
After studying part-time for a year, she received a scholarship from the State College Branch of the American Association of University Women that helped make it possible for her to be a full-time student.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in toxicology and master’s in soil science. Now she’s a doctoral student at Penn State in soil sciences and biogeochemistry, examining how wastewater contaminants impact antibiotic resistance. She’s also giving back as copresident of the State College Branch of AAUW.
“AAUW really is a great support network for women in this area as we move throughout our lives and our careers,” she says. “It’s an organization that is trying to help women succeed in life.”
This month, the State College Branch of AAUW is celebrating 100 years of doing exactly that. Founded at a time when few women were college educated, the organization has built a legacy of initiating change both on campus and in the community, all to support the AAUW mission of advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.
“The national office salutes the AAUW State College Branch on its 100th birthday,” says Christy Jones, vice president of membership and direct-response marketing for AAUW. “At its inception in 1916, the branch lobbied for the equality of women on the campus of Pennsylvania State College, carrying out AAUW’s mission locally. Clearly the branch’s longevity lies in its passion and commitment to positive societal change. We appreciate all the members and volunteers who selflessly give so much of themselves to empower women.”
Founded for education
On February 18, 1916, a small group of college-educated women met in the Women’s Building on the Penn State campus to found the Central Pennsylvania Branch of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae (ACA), with the goal of promoting higher education for women. Membership was open to all alumnae of ACA-approved colleges and universities. Penn State was not yet approved, so an early focus for the branch was lobbying for that approval, which was achieved in 1918.
During the branch’s first year alone, monthly discussions covered a wide range of topics, from the opening of the first US birth-control clinic and the election of the first congresswoman to vocational opportunities for women, heredity and eugenics, and the
Americanization of immigrants. Early efforts of the branch included lobbying Penn State for gender-specific restrooms, a women’s residence hall, and a female physical- education teacher.
In 1921, the national ACA merged with the Southern Association of College Women to form the American Association of University Women, giving the local group its permanent name. That year, both the national and local organizations supported the radioactivity research of Marie Curie, with the State College branch sending her $5 to help buy a gram of radium.
Notable local achievements over the years included successfully pressuring Penn State to appoint Clara Phillips as its first female trustee in 1926. A branch survey of kindergarten needs in 1935 led to the creation of the Emergency Nursery School. In 1941, the branch raised funds for the first Centre County Bookmobile, and, in 1951, a branch study led the State College Borough Water Authority to add fluorine to the community water supply. AAUW funding supported the opening of the Voluntary Action Center (now Community Help Centre) in 1974. As more mothers entered the workforce, AAUW State College initiated the PhoneFriend service for school-age “latch- key” children in 1982, and the program later was adopted around the country.
As the decades passed, moving to the forefront of the branch agenda were topics such as sex education, pay equity, gender bias in education, and a national equal rights amendment. While funds raised in early years went primarily to the national organization, eventually much of the money raised by State College AAUW members went to support scholarships and programs for local women. In 1962, AAUW State College held its first used-book sale, in the Bell Telephone building on South Allen Street, raising $176. Now held at Penn State’s Snider Ag Arena, the four-day annual sale (May 14 to 17 this year) attracts more than 8,000 visitors who browse 250,000 books donated by the community, with sales topping $125,000.
Marjorie Dunaway, who joined AAUW in 1949, has seen many changes over the past six decades.
“In the early days, AAUW was primarily concerned with education for women,” she recalls. “They still are, but the focus has widened, and now equity for women is important. Both of these issues lead to AAUW’s primary goal — the advancement of women.”
Sally Kalin, retired associate dean of libraries for Penn State, joined AAUW more than 30 years ago.
“I was very impressed with the women I met in the community who were members of AAUW — with their intelligence and their commitment to the community,” she says. Since then, she adds, she has seen more women move into fields formerly dominated by men, such as engineering, but equity remains a major goal for AAUW.
“Sexism still exists,” she says. “It’s more subtle now, but we need to be vigilant about it.”
Modern programs
Today, there are more than 1,000 AAUW branches across the country. The State College branch has about 155 members working toward the goal of improving the lives of all women. A major focus in recent years has been on initiatives supporting education and activities in science, technology, engineering, and math, says copresident Billie Willits, who is retired from Penn State. The branch partners with Centre County school districts in after-school STEM programs for middle school girls, offers scholarships to ScienceU camps at Penn State, and sponsors programs at Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania, including “Radium Curie-osity,” tying in with that donation to Marie Curie almost a century ago.
Scholarships of the type Franklin received continue to be “extremely important” to the State College branch, Willits says. During the past 50 years, the local branch has awarded $271,600 in undergraduate scholarship funds to 86 local women. In 2004, the membership established an endowment at the Centre Foundation, using the revenue from the used- book sale to support scholarships in perpetuity.
Some initiatives advocate for women and girls by advocating for all people, Willits notes. For example, a new public-policy initiative targets funding in Pennsylvania K-12 schools.
“We want to send the message that we want adequate and equitable funding among all school districts in Pennsylvania, so that all school districts can offer a good education to all students,” she explains.
State College AAUW also is a strong supporter of other community organizations. Since 1965, the branch has awarded more than $1 million in support of programs and services delivered by nonprofit community organizations that reflect the AAUW mission. The long list of recipient organizations includes Schlow Centre Region Library, Skills of Central Pennsylvania, Centre County Women’s Resource Center, Centre Volunteers in Medicine, State College Area School District, and many more.
The next generation of AAUW
Membership in AAUW State College is open to anyone who has earned at least an associate’s degree; members do not have to work for Penn State or any other college or university.
“The branch welcomes members no matter what their employment,” Willits says. “We just want to engage people who want to support the mission as we build on our history for the next 100 years.”
A new student chapter already is bringing in the next generation. As a college freshman, Jordan Glover spearheaded Penn State AAUW’s launch in spring 2014 following a conversation with her mother, Julia, an AAUW State College member. The student chapter has about 20 members, including Jordan, now a junior and the student organization’s president.
“I was never super big into women’s rights,” she says. “Then, doing my research for the chapter, I thought, ‘Wow, there are a lot of issues that specifically affect college women.’ Now I’m really passionate about equal pay.”
The student group’s primary event is Women’s Empowerment Week, held each semester at the HUB-Robeson Center — the spring 2016 one is February 29 to March 4. Each day during the event, Penn State AAUW focuses on a different topic, such as body image, sexual assault, and pay equity.
Willits notes that the student members work on issues that matter to them as college students, but the students also are important to the future of State College AAUW as it enters its second century, and to women’s advocacy nationally and internationally.
“These young women,” she says, “will have the mission of AAUW in mind when they go out into the workforce around the country, and hopefully around the world.”
