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The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 150,000 members,〔 1,500 branches,〔 and 500 college and university partners. Its headquarters are in Washington, DC. ==History== In 1881 Marion Talbot and Ellen Swallow Richards invited 15 alumnae of eight colleges to a meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.〔 The purpose of this meeting was to create an organization for women college graduates to find greater opportunities to use their education and to open the doors for other women to attend college. The Association of Collegiate Alumnae (ACA), AAUW's predecessor organization, was officially founded on January 14, 1882. In 1883, a similar group of college women considered forming a Chicago, Illinois branch of the ACA, then reconsidered and formed their own independent organization. The Western Association of Collegiate Alumnae (WACA) was formed with Jane M. Bancroft as its first president. The WACA was broad in purpose and consisted of five committees: fine arts, outdoor occupations,domestic professions, press and journalism, and higher education of women in the West. In 1884, the ACA still met only in Boston. As more women across the country became interested in its work, the Association allowed the formation of branches. Branches were required to carry on the work of the Association. Washington, D.C., was the first branch to be created in 1884 and New York, Pacific (San Francisco), Philadelphia, and Boston followed in 1886. In 1887, a fellowship program for women was established. The following year, the WACA awarded its first fellowship of $350 to Ida Street, a Vassar College graduate, to conduct research at the University of Michigan.〔Talbot, Marion and Lois Kimball Mathews Rosenberry. The History of the American Association of University Women, Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1931, p, 40-45.〕 Supporting the education of women through fellowships remains an integral part of AAUW’s mission today. The WACA merged with the ACA in 1889. In 1919, the ACA participated in a larger effort led by a group of American women which ultimately raised $156,413 to purchase a gram of radium for Marie Curie for her experiments.〔(University of Alabama article ) accessed March 11. 2008〕 Branches continue to be the backbone of AAUW. This policy of expansion greatly increased both the size and the impact of the Association from small and local to a nationwide network of college educated women. The organization has a nationwide network of 150,000 members,〔 1,500 branches,〔 and 500 college and university partners. Its headquarters are in Washington, DC. In 1885, as one of its first major projects, the ACA set out to disprove the myth that a college education would harm a woman’s health and result in infertility. This was a common belief held at the time and promoted by a Harvard educated, Boston physician named Dr. Edward H. Clarke. A committee led by Annie Howes created a series of questions which were sent to 1,290 ACA members. 705 replies were returned and tabulated and the result proved, not surprisingly, that education did not harm women’s health. The report, “Health Statistics of Female College Graduates” was published in 1885 in conjunction with the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor. This first research report is one in a series many research studies conducted by AAUW during its history.〔Health Statistics of Female College Graduates, 1885. Published by Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor.〕 During World War II, AAUW officially began raising money to assist female scholars displaced by the Nazi led occupation and unable to continue their work. The War Relief Fund received numerous pleas for help and worked tirelessly to find teaching and other positions for the women at American schools and universities and in other countries. Individual branch members of AAUW also participated by signing immigration affidavits of support. During 1940, its inaugural year, the War Relief Committee raised $29,950 for distribution with 350 branches contributing. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American Association of University Women」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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