University Women celebrate 125 years

At the local level, chapter has evolved, been active in area

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Members of the Patuxent River Branch of American Association of University Women helped at the 2006 Election Candidate Forum. From the left are branch president Karen Hunt, Barbara Fetterhoff and Barbara Hively, with then-candidate for treasurer Grace Mary Brady and Del. Sue Kullen. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

‘‘It’s pretty wonderful,” said Barbara Fetterhoff of Solomons.

The American Association of University Women was first created in 1881 when 17 women defied society’s standards and earned college degrees. According to its online museum, the women envisioned ‘‘an organization in which women college graduates can band together to open doors of higher education to other women and find wider opportunities to use their training.”

‘‘In those days there weren’t many places that supported education for women,” said Karen Hunt, of Huntingtown.

Hunt acts as the president of the Patuxent River Branch of AAUW.

‘‘The way of thinking did not support women’s rights. Women were being passed over.”

The group has done much more than it originally planned, however.

‘‘We’ve done many, many things through the years,” said Fetterhoff, a member of the Patuxent River Branch.

Originally known as the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, the group’s first branch was organized in Washington, D.C., and other branches soon spread across the country. ACA and a group known as the Southern Association of College Women merged in 1921, becoming one unified organization defending women’s rights, now known as AAUW. According to an AAUW press release, today that membership has grown to more than 100,000 members, 1,300 branches and 500 college and university partners. Nineteen of its branches are located in Maryland, including the Patuxent River Branch with members from the tri-county area. The local branch was formed in May 2006 after the individual Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert branches decided to consolidate into one.

‘‘We have about 50 members [in the Patuxent River branch],” Hunt said. ‘‘We are always looking to expand our membership. The more people, the more we can do.”

Within AAUW’s first 20 years, the women inspected schools, surveyed women’s health and physical education and became advocates of child labor laws, compulsory education, juvenile courts, abolition of child labor and funding for public schools and libraries. By 1914, AAUW was finding ways to aid international women students, and by 1919 was urging for the creation of the U.S. Department of Education. According to AAUW, over the next 87 years the group helped shape the ‘‘social, political, and economic scene for women, including the fight for pay equity; a woman’s right to vote; and legislation that protects women at home, in schools, and in the workplace.”

Locally AAUW has participated in many service projects and aided the community through various ways. Currently the local branch is collecting books for Head Start, playing a part in eBay’s Cash for Trash project, raising money for scholarships and grants, preparing for projects with the Children’s Literacy fund and Legal Advocacy fund and serving as a co-sponsor to several other organizations. Most recently the Patuxent River Branch helped to sponsor a 2006 election candidate forum on a local level.

Fetterhoff has been an AAUW member for 50 years.

‘‘I have always enjoyed belonging,” she said. ‘‘People stay in it a long time. We enjoy the work we can do in the county.”

Though Hunt has only been a member for three years, she knows the importance of the organization.

‘‘This was a group of women that got together and said we need to have unity,” she said. ‘‘We can do more together than we can do separately.”

In more recent years on a national level, AAUW has been responsible for publishing studies they helped to conduct about sexual harassment, bullying and teasing in schools, and has continued to be ‘‘a source for research about women and higher education and workplace equity.”

AAUW also examines critical issues such as gender-based justice in the classroom and challenges facing girls in today’s world. It features and awards women making history, and continually addresses issues still needing to be discussed.

‘‘We’re proud that our organization still makes a difference today,” said AAUW President Ruth Sweetser in the press release. ‘‘AAUW has stood the test of time and will continue to be a strong advocate for women in years to come.”

E-mail Meagan Boswell at mboswell@somdnews.com.