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The AAUW Tucson Branch brochure for information regarding membership can be accessed by clicking here. This can be printed for use by the members as a handout to potential new members The brochure is in an Adobe pdf file. The sheet is basically two sides, therefore, print back to back. To get more information about Joining the AAUW National you can link to the join/renew and get comprehensive information. To get the Brochure for AAUW Membership, The Student Affiliates Brochure or College University Partners Brochure download here. Give the gift of membership!
AAUW Answers Questions on the Definitions of the New Membership Criteria Printed from AAUW Association Website-- Membership Center. At the Sunday, June 27 business session of the 2005 AAUW National Convention, AAUW members voted to expand membership to include graduates holding an associate or equivalent, baccalaureate, or higher degree from a qualified educational institution. The following questions and answers address some of the many questions regarding the implementation of these new membership criteria. What do the AAUW bylaws now define as the criteria for membership in AAUW? As amended by the delegates to the 2005 Convention, the AAUW bylaws now admit to membership "a graduate holding an associate or equivalent...degree from a qualified educational institution." The bylaws define qualified institutions as "educational institutions that offer recognized associate, baccalaureate, or higher degrees and that have full regional or appropriate professional association approval." What is the definition of an associate degree? The American Heritage Dictionary defines an associate degree as "an academic degree conferred by a two-year college after the prescribed course of study has been successfully completed." J.R. Whittstruck in Requirements for Certificates, Diplomas and Associate Degrees (State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, 1985) states, "An associate's degree is a degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada upon completion of a course of study equivalent to the first two years in a four-year college or university. It is the lowest in the hierarchy of academic degrees offered in these countries." The associate degree includes associate of arts (AA), associate of science (AS), associate of applied science (AAS), associate of arts and science (AA&S), and associate of applied arts (AAA, usually in music or commercial art). The most academic are the AA and the AS, and these programs are usually geared toward a student expecting to transfer on to a 4-year college. However, all are qualified associate degrees. What is the equivalent of an associate degree? The equivalent of an associate degree is an academic degree or diploma awarded by a qualified institution such as a business college or a hospital, which may not be called "associate degree" but has the same academic requirements or greater. A qualified institution is one that has full regional or appropriate professional association approval. Examples of an equivalent degree are two- or three-year RN diplomas, usually based in a hospital or a community college, and business college/school associate degrees (usually an AAS in business-related fields). A certificate awarded by a business college normally does not qualify. or example, many business colleges offer either an associate degree (usually an AAS but some AA degrees) or a certificate in the same field (common examples are accounting and marketing). However, the course requirement for a certificate is not equal in academic credits to those required for the associate degree, and it is not the equivalent to two years of courses or the common 60 hours as the twoyear standard. Furthermore, a certificate is not generally accepted by four-year colleges as equivalent to an associate degree for the purpose of transfer. Therefore, our conclusion is that "equivalent" will usually apply to the RN diploma and to associate degrees awarded by business colleges/schools. The latter are still going to be called "associate degrees." Are those with more than two years of college, but no degree or diploma as defined in the previous paragraph eligible for AAUW membership? No. AAUW remains an organization whose members have completed academic work and have been awarded a degree or diploma from a qualified educational institution. Will those members with AA degrees be eligible for IFUW membership? No. IFUW members are women with baccalaureate or higher degrees, so just as our male members are not members of IFUW, members with associate degrees will not be IFUW members. What happens to student affiliates who receive an associate degree but continue on in their schooling toward a bachelor's degree? At the time of receiving an associate degree, student affiliates will have a choice in the way they remain affiliated with AAUW. They can choose to become a full member with the privilege of voting and holding office. Or they can choose to remain a student affiliate if they continue work toward a bachelor's degree and not have a vote nor be able to hold office. What if prospective members are not certain if they qualify for membership? Or if a program qualifies as equivalent to an associate degree? Questions regarding eligibility and qualification can be addressed to MemberCriteria@aauw.org or the AAUW Helpline at 800/326-2289. Queries will be handled by the Membership Department, the membership chair, bylaws chair, or AAUW parliamentarian as appropriate.
Members enjoy a variety of benefits including:
New members qualify for special dues rates. Annual Membership dues are as follows: National $49 Total $81 Student Membership National $17 Total $20
Equal Opportunity Statement: AAUW values
and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers to full participation
in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual
orientation, national origin, disability or class. What's up with Virginia? Most of these columns have centered on the grants made by the Virginia Gildsersleeve International Fund (VGIF) to women in developing countries to "support projects focusing on women's educational activities, leadership training, community development, and the advancement of understanding and cooperation among women". But I've been asked about the organization itself and "who is Virginia Gildersleeve?" So let's talk about the fund and Virginia for a bit. VGIF was established in 1969 with $300.00 and 11 members, all members of the International Federation for University Women (IFUW). In 2004-2005 we raised over $120,500.00 and awarded $99,970.00 in project grants. One hundred percent of the contributions are designated for grants; all administration costs are covered by an endowment set up for that purpose. All officers, directors and committee members pay their own expenses to meetings. Meetings are held at the offices in New York City, located in a building owned by the Marble Collegiate Church, which rents only to nonprofit organizations at reasonable rates. And, although started by IFUW members, VGIF is open to anyone who supports the mission. Currently, our members come from 45 countries. Grant applications are screened by members of the Grants Committee and those selected are presented at the annual meeting for approval. Monies not used in a given year are allocated for grants in future years. On-site visits to grant recipients are made when possible, progress reports are required. One recent example, with follow-up: "Friendship Bridge, in Guatamala" The Friendship Bridge's microcredit program provides access to credit, health and business education, and leadership training to rural Mayan women and educational scholarships to the children of the borrowers. VGIF has contributed to breaking the cycle of poverty of over 3,500 women through microcredit support to improve their diet, water supply, sanitary conditions, and housing, in addition to providing educational opportunities to over 5,000 children." Now, to Virginia Gildersleeve herself. You might already have learned that she was co-founder and twice president of the International Federation of University Women, and the only woman appointed in 1945 by President Franklin Roosevelt to the U.S. Delegation for the establishment of the United Nations, and the first woman in the United States to sign a U..S. treaty. But she was much more that that. Born and bred in New York City, she enrolled in a little school for women that had just opened nearby --Barnard College, part of Columbia University. She stayed on to earn her PhD in English at Columbia and then to teach at Barnard, becoming Dean in 1911 and serving in that role until 1945. Anywhere else, she would have been called what she really was, College President. Barnard existed because Annie Nathan Meyer had been denied admission to Columbia -- no women allowed -- and worked strenuously to open Barnard, finally accepted as part of Columbia. Virginia Gildersleeve was an early supporter of "the women's movement" and encouraged her students to be politically active, even though it was considered an inappropriate activity for women. By sometimes devious strategies, she gradually opened up the graduate schools at Columbia to her women students, making sure they were her best and brightest and assuring President Butler they would graduate highest in their classes. They did. Remember the prevailing medical attitude when AAUW was first formed in the 1880's? The stress of higher education would adversely affect women's health, particularly the reproductive system. The first AAUW study refuted that belief. Opening up professional jobs for women was more difficult in the depression years (1920's and 30's) but World War II changed that. Gildersleeve was instrumental in advancing women in the sciences -- some interesting stories can be told -- and she helped to found the WAVES, women reserves in the navy. All of which, plus her many international activities, led to her 1945 appointment to the UN Delegation. There's so much more about her world-changing endeavors. Maybe another time. But you can see why the founders chose to name the organization the Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund. (Much of the information about her I have shared came from a speech given at the 50th reunion of the class of Barnard '45, the class that gave their Dean to the UN, by Prof. Rosalind Rosenberg, Chair of the History Dept. at Barnard.) Consider making an individual gift, or be a part of the collection at our November branch meeting. If you can't be there, you can send your membership contribution -- $25.00 or more to: Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund, Treasurer
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