Elmira-Corning Branch AAUW History

       On November 28, 1891, seventeen young women representing eight colleges met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston to discuss actions they could take to bring about a better world for women. These women founded the Association of Collegiate Alumnae (ACA) “to unite alumnae of different institutions for practical educational work.” The ACA constitution was adopted on January 14, 1892.

      In 1890, Corning joined with Albany and Buffalo, New York City, and Syracuse to form the Association of College Alumnae. The Corning group was designated AAUW Easter Steuben Branch in 1920 and the Corning Branch in 1952. Around 2002, the Corning Branch joined the Elmira Branch to become the Elmira-Corning Branch of AAUW.

      In 1910, a group of women in the Elmira area formed the College Club of Elmira. Membership was open to all women who had degrees from a recognized college or university. In 1917, the College Club of Elmira was admitted to the Association of Collegiate Alumnae.

      The American Association of University Women began in 1921 with the union of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae and the Southern Association of University Women. Although the purpose of AAUW has expanded over the years, our primary goals of enabling women to continue their intellectual growth, to further the advancement of women, and to discharge their special responsibilities to society still remain.

      Fellowships have been a part of AAUW since 1888 when the Western Association of Collegiate Alumnae awarded its first fellowship for graduate study. Beginning in 1949, a designated amount from annual dues of each member of our association is put into the Fellowship Fund. The Fellowship Program has been called “AAUW’s Investment in Excellence.”

      Since 1920, each AAUW member has automatically received membership in the International Federation of University Women. The purpose of that organization is “to promote understanding and friendship among the university women of the nations of the world.”

      One of the ACA’s founders, Dr. Marion Talbot, wrote on the occasion of AAUW’s 59^th anniversary in 1931: “the Association has, like humanity itself, been dynamic, never static.” These words are still true today, as are the words in the original (1916) constitution of the Elmira Branch of the Collegiate Alumnae: “The object of this club shall be to promote intellectual growth, increase inter-collegiate fellowship, and further educational interests.”

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