Open Up AAUW

Will you be in DC for the AAUW convention? It should be an awesome event.

We need people who support open membership to speak up. Will you help? Look for our stickers. Ask for one. Wear one. Tell others why you support open membership. And, pass out our brochure.

Ask people to come to this site to register their support.

When you encounter opposition to open membership, explore whether there’s a compromise solution. Brainstorm what that solution might be. Add it to the discussion here.

Wish I were going to be there with you.

Ruth

We have added several new pages to this website, to provide more tools for informed discussion of open membership. Visit the DISCUSSION POINTS page, which gives a context for the differing viewpoints on the issue as well as suggested questions to guide a branch discussion.

Accompanying this page are two more:  Membership History and People Without a College Degree.  The former shows that AAUW’s membership criteria has always adapted and evolved with the times.  The latter provides concrete examples of people whose lives — and potential contributions to AAUW — cannot be measured by the absence of letters after their names.

Over the next week or two, you’ll see references on this site to “AAUW for All” change to “Open Up AAUW” or something similar. Later this year, you may see it all change back.

What’s going on is that we are, obviously, an informal group of AAUW members and we were using a name that implied we were an official AAUW entity. That is not the case, and while the national AAUW has given us permission to use “AAUW” in our name, they have asked that we not use one that starts with AAUW, which is a pattern used by branches and implies official use of the brand.

As members, we support the effort to put rules around the use of “AAUW” as a trademark, and we are moving to make those changes, subject to the communication challenges in getting our informal network to agree on an alternative.

On the other hand, we are also beginning to explore getting recognized as an official entity under the new AAUW bylaws where Article XII defines “AAUW entities” and the new Policy 203 (see excerpts below). Part of that process would be getting our group and name approved by the AAUW board, and we may ask for a return to the “AAUW for All” name.

Stay tuned.

AAUW Charter and Bylaws

ARTICLE XII. ADDITIONAL AAUW ENTITIES
The AAUW Board of Directors may establish informal geographic, issue, or special interest groups and networks to further the mission of AAUW and foster the specific interests and needs of members. In addition, groups of members, branches, or states may form other affiliations with one another to serve common AAUW purposes. If desired, they may seek recognition of those AAUW entities following procedures and policies established by the AAUW Board of Directors.

AAUW Policy 203
III.  Additional AAUW Entities

1. Organization. Additional entities seeking formal recognition shall notify the AAUW Board of Directors.  They shall provide a statement of their purpose, intended methods of operation, and an administrative contact.
2. Governance. If an additional entity chooses to have bylaws, those bylaws shall not conflict with the AAUW Bylaws.
3. Recognition. Formal recognition will be made by the AAUW Board of Directors.

If you’re not familiar with the internal discussions AAUW has been having over the years, the purpose of this group, “AAUW’s focus on equity should be the basis of membership eligibility,” may not be clear.

Currently, AAUW has a degree requirement for membership: all those who join must have an associate’s or equivalent, bachelor’s, or higher degree from a regionally accredited college or university. This group supports dropping that degree requirement and saying all who support AAUW’s mission of advancing equity for all women and girls are welcome to join.

We realize that this will not be an overnight change, and that it will be a significant change, but we do believe that it will be best for AAUW and for our communities.

As we move into and through the AAUW state convention season, we welcome those who have heard about this site from their friends. Join us as we build a community to support the idea that a commitment to equity should be the basis for AAUW membership.

After the AAUW 2009 convention, an informal group was established to discuss next steps. All of the subscribers voted on the following:

Motion 1: The name of this group shall be the AAUW for All Network. Passed (yes 21)
Motion 2: The purpose of this group is to make AAUW’s focus on equity the basis of membership eligibility.  Passed (yes 20, no 1)
Motion 3: Approve Marilyn Arp as treasurer for the group and her primary branch, AAUW Long Valley (ID), as the group’s fiscal agent.  Passed (yes 20, abstain 1)
Motion 4: The fee for membership in the group shall be $5/year. The membership year will run 7/1-6/30. Those paying $5 by 6/30/2010 will be charter members of the group. Passed (yes 19, no 1, abstain 1)

Voting opened on 1/18/2010. Results were announced on 1/29/2010, showing the names of who voted. No objections to the results of the vote were submitted.