Volume 26, Number 1, Fall 2001

PAGE ONE

"Shape the Future" is the theme for AAUW-MA in 2001-02. During the coming year we will be doing both evolutionary and revolutionary planning for our organizational future.

Last spring the Executive Committee decided to ask AAUW-MA members to establish priorities that would help the Executive Committee prepare a revised strategic plan at the October Board Meeting. At the Summer Board Meeting that evolutionary process began under the able facilitation of Lillian Colavecchio, Barbara Hyle and Nancy Moore. Here are some of the "news headlines" that emerged as we envisaged the future: "AAUW offers Choices to women of action from 19 to 90," "AAUW Leaders make a difference in MA: They influence the lives of women and girls," "LAF hits the college campus to support women," "Governor draws thousands to AAUW Conference on economic and educational partnerships," and "Women supported by a firm Foundation." From these initial visions, we went on to establish planning priorities and personal commitments. The ideas generated at the meeting will guide our strategic planning for the coming year.

In addition to the evolutionary planning that we are continuing through the strategic plan, AAUW-MA has established a Task Force on the Future. Chaired by Elizabeth Kenney, the other Task Force members are Linda Britt, Lillian Colavecchio, Barbara Hyle, and Nancy Moore. The Task Force is charged with making recommendations to enable AAUW-MA to become a model 21st century women's organization. The recommendations will be based on analyses of organizational, demographic, and societal trends in Massachusetts; focus groups and surveys with other women's organizations in the Commonwealth, and insightful reflection and discussion. The Task Force will present a progress report at the Winter Board Meeting and its recommendations at the Annual Meeting next April 28.

While the State Board is engaged in these revolutionary and evolutionary planning processes, wonderful programs are being planned throughout the year at state and branch levels. On October 13, AAUW-MA hosts a Sister to Brother Summit at Quincy College. I hope to see representatives of every branch there.

PAGE TWO

Eleanor Roosevelt Teacher Fellowships are open to K-12 women public school teachers. Professional development fellowships provide up to $5,000 for professional workshops, courses, or conferences and a dynamic, five day summer Teacher Institute in Washington, DC. Fellowships also provide seed money for planning a project to advance gender equity in classrooms and schools. Application postmark deadline is January 10, 2002.

Community Action Grants are open to individual women, AAUW branches, AAUW state organizations, and local community based nonprofit organizations.

• One year grants offer up to $7,000 in seed money for community based projects to advance education and equity for women and girls.
• Two year grants provide up to $10,000 for a year of planning and coalition building leading to implementation of a school or community based program to encourage girls' interest and achievement in math, science, and technology.

Application postmark deadline is January 15, 2002.

For more information and applications, see www.aauw.org/3000/fdnfelrga/cag., or call 319/337-1716 extension 139.

PAGE THREE

Delegates from 45 states, including the New England contingent of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont, convened in Austin, TX to "Shape the Future" of AAUW. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel in space and currently professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College opened the convention.

A standing ovation greeted Jackie Woods, AAUW's new Executive Director, who acknowledged AAUW's 120-year legacy. She reminded members of our commitment to promoting equity and education for women and girls from all walks of life and challenged us to "assume a power-broker stance that is fueled in part by our acknowledgement of and commitment to the different faces and different voices of the new age that are important to shaping our future."

Nancy Rustad (Minnesota) was elected AAUW President, Mary Ellen Smyth (Illinois) Foundation President and Sylvia Newman (Texas) Legal Advocacy Fund president. In addition, many familiar New England names surfaced in elected positions: Gail Nordmoe (formerly Connecticut and Massachusetts) won the Foundation Program Vice President position; Bets Brown (Maine) was elected to the Foundation Board; Loretta James (Connecticut) International Affairs Director; Pam Collins (Massachusetts) AAUW Program Vice President; Paula Jean Yukna (Connecticut) AAUW Co-Finance Vice President; and Lillian Colavecchio (Massachusetts) New England Regional Director. Sylvia McDowell (Massachusetts) is ongoing in her position on the Legal Advocacy Board. New England enjoys a presence on all three corporation boards! Congratulations to those who "threw their hats in the ring."

Other key decisions made at convention include:

• A vote to reduce size of Association board from 21 to 12 members by 2003.
• A vote to keep the current requirement of six month notice needed for a vote to raise dues.
• Several by-laws changes to accommodate the restructured AAUW board.

Alice Ann Jacobs, former president of the Foundation, was presented the first Legacy Circle Pin honoring those who provide gifts for the Foundation through a will, a trust, or one of the Foundation's planned giving programs. We listened to the humor and wise words of Sarah Weddington, the attorney who argued the landmark case of Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. We were energized by U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas who encouraged AAUW women to be "tree-shakers and risk-takers!" Special kudos to Massachusetts for being among the top ten states with a 62% increase in fundraising for the Legal Advocacy Fund...and to the Peabody-Lynnfield Branch for their per capita contribution of $52.27.

Austin was great! Many thanks to the Local Arrangements Committee and AAUW staff!! Now let's look forward to the AAUW Convention in 2003 in Providence, Rhode Island!

PAGE FOUR

Please join us for a continuation of the dialog and action plans started at Sister-to-Sister summits held in Massachusetts and around the country in 1998. Girls told us, loudly and clearly, that they wanted to hear from boys, too, and exchange ideas with them. This summit aims to do just that! We are inviting 8th and 9th grade girls and boys to participate in the summit.

Morning workshops are being planned for adults attending the conference will be posted on our web site after September 15 – Check it out! http://www.aauw-ma.org If you cannot attend, please sponsor a girl or boy; see registration coupon on page 7.

The Fall State Board Meeting will be held after lunch. Final information including times will be on our web site. Use the registration coupon on page 7 to register by the September 29th deadline.

Directions to Quincy College:

• From the North: Take Routes 1 or 3 or I-93 South through Boston. Take exit 12, towards Neponset (Rt-3A S)/Quincy. Merge onto Gallivan Blvd. Turn right onto Neponset Ave; Neponset Ave becomes Neponset Bridge. Turn slightly right onto Hancock Street. Stay straight to go onto Hancock St/Rte 3A S. Continue straight on Hancock St.; turn slightly left onto Temple St. Temple St. becomes Coddington St.
• From the South: Take Route 3 North. Take exit 19 towards T Station/Quincy Center. Turn slightly left onto ramp; merge onto Thomas Burgin Parkway. Turn slightly right onto Granite Street. Granite St. becomes Hancock St. Hancock St. becomes Temple St. Temple St. becomes Coddington St.
• From the West: Take the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) to exit 14, I-95 South. Take I-93 towards Braintree/Cape Cod. Take Rte-3 South towards Cape Cod. Take the Washington St exit (exit 18) towards T Station/Quincy Center. Keep left at the fork in the ramp; merge onto Thomas Burgin Parkway. Turn slightly right onto Granite Street. Granite St. becomes Hancock St. Hancock St. becomes Temple St. Temple St. becomes Coddington St.

PAGE FIVE

As the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund celebrates its 20th Anniversary, the MA LAF committee set a $10,000 goal for branch and member contributions for the current program year (April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002). This represents a 10% increase over last year, and will help LAF Litigants, such as Cheryl Vuolo and Tish Dace (both at UMass/Dartmouth) and Joanne Thomas (URI) speak out for justice in higher education.

At press time, a pretrial conference had been set for Cheryl Vuolo's case. If it moves forward, we will be mobilizing our members to support her during the trial and you will be contacted through your branch.

The new format of the LAF page on the AAUW website is user friendly and contains a wealth of information on many aspects of the Fund. Profiles of all LAF supported cases are available at www.AAUW.org/3000/caselist.shtml.

I urge you to visit the AAUW website, especially the LAF link.

Membership growth requires planning, participation, and commitment by all members. The responsibility for growth lies with every branch member. What's the key to success in recruitment and retention and maintaining a vital branch and state? Mastering the rules of the membership

G.A.M.E.:

Goal Setting

• Define what you want to accomplish.Be specific and quantitative.
• Set and track member recruitment and retention goal amounts and dates.
• Define diverse target markets.

Action Planning

• Identify strategies and timelines.
• Outline specifically how you will accomplish each goal.

Money and Resource Management

• Identify volunteer time, monetary expenses, and other resources needed to implement membership plans.
• Work with your board to determine how your needs will be met.

Energy/Enthusiasm/Encouragement

• All three E's are necessary to make anything happen!

Let's all play the G.AM.E. and AAUW-MA will be the winner!

This summer each branch Membership Vice President was mailed a folder of membership materials including the revised Membership Tool Kit. Be sure to ask her for a copy of the new, colorful Shaping the Future for Women and Girls informational brochure to give to a prospective member. The very successful Shape the Future with AAUW membership campaign, which offers discounts to guests who join at an AAUW sponsored event and allows branches to earn free memberships through their recruitment efforts, is continuing along with the Give-a-Grad-a-Gift online free membership program and the Emerging Leader Internship program which connects college students to branch projects. Your branch Membership Vice President is eager to put these programs and materials to use with your help. Membership is everyone's game!

PAGE SIX

Congress will have been in recess from August 6 to September 4, but you still have an opportunity to get in touch with them about possible judicial nominees. We hope they will research records of nominees carefully, and vote only for qualified nominees that are committed to guaranteeing equal justice for all.

You might keep following the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA, now numbered HR 1) and be ready to oppose the conference report if gender equity policies are stripped from the bill, if the Boy Scout language is maintained, or if the hate crime prevention language is cut.

AAUW opposes the charitable choice initiatives because we believe that, if faith-based organizations receive federal funds to provide social services, they must abide by anti-discrimination laws and must not be permitted to proselytize to recipients.

MA-AAUW has been honored to receive a 2001-2002 Public Policy Impact Grant of $850 from National Association. During the competitive application process, selection was limited to ten states with the highest potential for public policy impact. Other recipient states are Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming.

State Public Policy co-chairs Lois Pulliam and Patricia Ho will coordinate this intensive year-long project. Goals include increasing public policy awareness and activism among members and the general public; strengthening a political power base through extensive coalitions focused on AAUW priorities; and getting out the women's vote in 2002.

To accomplish these goals, the state Public Policy Committee and co-chairs will organize two forums: An Afternoon with Women Legislators in Boston in March 2002, and another addressing issues of diversity, working in coalition, in April 2002.

At the branch and state levels, distribution of a state Public Policy newsletter, Association's "Get the Facts" and other issue-related resources will be enhanced. Through increased involvement in the legislative process, AAUW members and their communities will be empowered to make a greater impact on issues.

To subscribe to "Get the Facts", AAUW's fax and e-mail alerts on congressional action, call 800/608-5286 or e-mail votered@aauw.org. Coordinators Patricia (978/744-1265) and Lois (781/275-0090) would also welcome any input in planning and implementing grant projects.

Interesting news from AAUW Convention: CONVENTION PASSES INTERNATIONAL RESOLUTION.*

At Convention many structural changes were made to the governance of AAUW. The stated intent was to downsize, so that when an attempt was made to amend the bylaws to include a committee on international issues, it was ruled out of order.

A Resolution was then brought to the floor and passed. It reads: "...that the Bylaws Committee be directed to bring forward a provision for a standing committee on International Affairs for consideration at the next Convention, if passed to take effect July 1, 2003." This committee would then recommend policy and action on international issues and liaison with IFUW.

It is time to become more active in the international sphere, AAUW's interests in that area having lapsed over the past few years. Members who are interested in bringing greater strength to our colleagues in IFUW and the Gildersleeve should make this interest known to branch, state and national leadership.

*Kathleen Laurila, IFUW Status of Women Committee, and a former International Relations Chair of AAUW provided this information. She edits Global Perspective, which can be found online at www.ifuw.org/nfa-publications.htm

PAGE SEVEN

Sister to Brother Summit / Fall Conference October 13, 2001

Registration due Saturday, September 29, 2001

Send registration form and check to: Linda Britt, Registrar

16 Ellsworth Rd., Peabody, MA 01960

978-531-6116 or Lbritt@vnab.org

PAGE EIGHT

TEAM MEMBERS: Carol Carbaugh, Lois Sanford Gallo, Roda Amaria, Patricia Ho, Leona Martin, Nancy Moore, Nelly Wadsworth.

The Diversity Resource Team met in July to discuss plans for the upcoming fall and spring. We will continue two ongoing efforts by the team, and that is the Turtle Award Program and the Branch/DRTeam Liaison System. We realize that in spite of weaknesses here and there in our liaison work in the past, it is important to renew the effort in order to stay broadly connected.

When your DRTeam liaison calls branch presidents or branch diversity chairs in September, she will explore what you consider your branches' best efforts might be toward achieving a Turtle Award for excellence in branch diversity initiatives in year 2002. From that information we will create the Turtle Award criteria at our October 2 DRTeam meeting and distribute it to everyone in the fall.

At our July meeting we decided that our main focus this year will be a collaboration with the state public policy team on a conference planned for next spring that involves the greatly diverse population in the Lowell area. You will learn much more about this program in the state Public Policy Chairs' article. We look forward to this exercise!

During the year we are available to come to your branch for a diversity program or exercise. I suggest that you may find it interesting to have a program about the addition of the category of class to the Association diversity statement. North Shore Branch did this last spring, and I believe learned some unexpected things about classism in our society. We look forward to leading a program on diversity at the Hingham Branch in November. Call me at 781-275-1018 or email me at erroomniv@aol.com

As you can see from what's in the news, vigilance must be maintained on diversity matters. We don't seek to finish the job; we simply seek to keep moving forward with it.

In case you ever want more information on services for the deaf, you may find this website helpful. www.astc.org/resource/access/interpret.htm