Edinboro University Women's Association

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 200-208

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Edinboro University Women's Association Collection includes: records of constitution and membership, photo albums documenting the association's projects and university activities, and scrapbooks highlighting its special interests and applicable reportage. While there are items in it of the First Wives group, the collection contains a majority of information on the origin and doings of EUWA in the late 1970s through the 2000s.

Dates

1971-2010
1977-2010
Other: Date acquired: 20110000

Creator

Edinboro University Women's Association (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Available for use by researchers in the university archive.

Conditions Governing Use

The EUWA no longer exists. Photocoping with permission of the university archivist.

Biographical or Historical Information

In 1959, Marian Miller, the wife of then President Tom Miller, envisioned a women's group which would receive support at the college. Mrs. Miller felt the need for the wives, mainly young women with small children, to have a social outlet with others of like interests. Therefore, with the appointment of Dorothy Ickes as their first president, an informal group called Faculty Wives came into being. In those early years, only the wives of faculty and support personnel of Edinboro State College were eligible for membership. However, as the college grew, so did the need to accommodate more women. Thus, in the early 1980s, the membership voted to become the Edinboro University Women's Association (EUWA), with membership open to any woman who was employed or whose husband was employed at the university. With this change, the organization was somewhat altered. New purposes were found which included: "[enhancing] the quality of life; [fostering] friendship and sociability among the women who [constituted] its membership; and, when appropriate, [furthering] the aims of the university." The association committed to these purposes, especially through financial contributions to aid students. In 1983, a scholarship fund was created to be awarded annually to a full-time student who had returned to education after an absence of at least five years, had just completed the junior year and had an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better. The first scholarship from this fund was awarded in 1987. Further, the Marian Miller Award was established in the 1990s to aid in the tuition payment of a needy student (or of needy students) at the Miller Research Learning Center. These awards were funded mainly through the holiday house tours planned by the resource committee of the EUWA but also sponsored were a dinner, an art auction, a pig roast, and a fashion show. Members of the association were, moreover, involved in orientation, honors convocation, iced tea summer events, and other special projects that warranted their participation. When not volunteering, members were also able to engage in special interest groups such as lunch brunch, Christian fellowship, bridge, book club, swimming, etc. These activities continued to be enjoyed until 2010. After a 50-year celebration and remembrance, the last meeting of the association was held on October 2nd of that year.Note written by Caiden Feldmille

Extent

2.00 Linear Feet

0.50 Linear Feet

1.50 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Abstract

Before its dissolution in 2010, the Edinboro University Women's Association (EUWA) had goals "to enhance the quality of life; foster friendship and sociability among the women who [constituted] its membership; and, when appropriate, to further the aims of the university." The EUWA collection consists of records, photo albums, and scrapbooks presenting the evolutionary history of the organization from a small group acting as a social outlet to an established association which met the aforementioned goals.