AAUW.org
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) is the nation’s leading voice promoting equity and education for women and girls. Since our founding in 1881, AAUW members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political.
Here is a sample about the early years:
In our early years, we offered women a way to unite as a source of strength, support and power. We launched one of the most enduring fellowship programs for women in world. And we commissioned groundbreaking research that documented women’s abilities and equal value.
Prominent members included such influential woman as Hull House co-founder Jane Addams, suffragist pioneers Carrie Chapman Catt and May Wright Sewall, Edith Abbott who was the first woman Dean of a graduate school (University of Chicago), pioneering geneticist Nettie Stevens, groundbreaking research scientist Gertrude Rand who discovered the test for color blindness, the first woman elected to Congress Rep. Jeannette Raskin (R-MT) and the first Jewish woman elected to Congress Rep. Florence Prag Kahn.
Gainesville Branch
The Gainesville Branch is one of more than 1000 local chapters of American Association of Women (AAUW), a 170,000+ member nonprofit organization. Founded in 1926, the first Gainesville branch officers were President, Mrs. Elizabeth Cato; Vice-President, Miss Nelle Morris, and Secretary, Miss Christine Tomkies. They formed three study groups: International Relations, Pre-School Group and Literature Group.
In 1955, the Gainesville Branch initiated a Revolving Loan Fund for women students at the University of Florida. The fund was no longer needed for its original purpose so in 2019, the Branch donated the remaining balance ($30,000) to the Center for Gender, Sexualities and Women’s Studies Research at the University of Florida.