|
Pat’s Perspective: |
|
American Association of University Women Aurora Area Branch |
|
Promoting education and equality for women and girls |
|
Greetings, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. As we enter into 2010, we can take time to reflect on our Aurora Branch’s past year’s accomplishments. The one that first pops into my mind is the Girls Scout Science Day, which was the result of many months of planning and effort by a few dedicated members. This year, we will need to decide how we can commit ourselves to the next STEM activity for local girls. In August the board approved a collaborative project with the Naperville branch. The joint committee has made plans to hold a science event at IMSA for girls in 4th and 5th grades on Oct. 16, 2010, which is fast approaching. Please see the report included in this edition of HIGHTLIGHTS, so that you will be better informed about taking on a big project. We will be discussing it at the Chili Supper on Jan. 21st and your input is much needed. The next meeting of the joint planning committee (NORA, which is short for Naperville and Aurora) will be on Sat. Jan. 9th at 1:00 pm in Naperville. If you would be interested in attending that, please call me or email me at patricia.daugherty@att.net. The February meeting of the joint planning committee will be at SciTech Museum in Aurora, so it will be more convenient for Aurora Area members. I hope to see a few more of you at this meeting, as many hands make light work.
Don’t miss the Chili Supper! We have a wonderful speaker—former AAUW fellow, Dr. Elizabeth Freeland, who teaches physics at the Art Institute and is also on the staff at Fermi Lab. Dr. Freeland will discuss the discrimination encountered by women in science, and her personal struggle to be regarded as a serious scientist. She maintains a website titled “Career Breaks in Physics”. Interestingly, the July 2009 issue of Fermilab’s news magazine, SYMMETRY, contained an article about efforts to increase diversity on their staff. This event is always a fundraiser for the Legal Advocacy Fund, which supports women seeking redress for inequity in the work place. You will be treated to chili to warm you up along with a very timely program!
Stay warm, Pat Daugherty— President Aurora Branch AAUW-IL Inc. |