The American Association of University Women

In 1961, the Fund began to address the incomplete inclusion of women in American life, particularly in higher education. Support to the American Association of University Women (AAUW) aimed to address the lag between opportunity and participation, and to enhance women’s satisfaction with their roles in communities outside their family obligations. Recognizing that college-educated women often declined to pursue academic careers in order to raise children, the Fund supported the AAUW’s three-year demonstration program offering additional training for mature women to enter university teaching, research, or administration. The Fund’s gift provided tuition and grant-in-aid to 125 women, as well as subsidies to participating graduate schools. A related gift went to Radcliffe College’s Institute for Independent Study to offer incentives to women with doctoral degrees to return to work in their fields of expertise.