AAUW responds to the State of the Union address

Meet Carolyn Garfein, new president of AAUW

One of the great things about the internet is the growing ease with which we can see and hear the people who used to be so far away. Here's the first message from AAUW's new national president. It's just under two minutes -- a fast way to get to know Carolyn Garfein.


Carolyn H. Garfein, of Alpharetta, Georgia, was recently elected to a two-year term as president of the AAUW Board of Directors. The election was held at the 2009 AAUW National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, which was attended by more than 1,000 members representing more than 1,300 AAUW states and branches.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Carolyn H. Garfein Elected President of AAUW (aauw.org)
• An Eye on Suffragists in St. Louis (blog-aauw.org)

AAUW Conference Call Available Until Monday

Image via WikipediaListen and Give Feedback to Replay of
Post Election Analysis Conference Call

If you weren't able to join AAUW's Public Policy and Government Relations Department on the phone last night for the AAUW Post Election Analysis Conference Call, then you can call in and listen to a recording of the call.

Hundreds of AAUW members joined AAUW's Executive Director Linda Hallman and the Public Policy and Government Relations Department staff on the phone last week to hear about the post-election environment and what it means for AAUW's public policy agenda. The call covered both legislative and grassroots components: a look ahead at AAUW's legislative agenda for the 111th Congress, and the role that you can play in moving our agenda forward.

The call was recorded and will be available for playback until Nov. 17. To listen to a replay of the call, call toll free 1-888-203-1112 and use the passcode 61901065. The call starts approximately two minutes into the recording, so don't worry if you don't hear the program immediately.

If you've listened to the call, we'd like to get your feedback. Please fill out our online survey at this link.

Show your creativity before Nov. 3rd

Image via WikipediaNational AAUW is having a design contest. Here's an opportunity to show your talent. Submissions are due before Nov. 3rd.

AAUW - Spring 2009 Note Card Design Contest: "Calling all AAUW Artists

To showcase the artistic talents of AAUW members, AAUW announces the AAUW Note Card Design Contest. Our 2009 note cards will be made special by using members' original art on the front of the cards. To make them even more special, AAUW members will select the three designs that appear on the cards by voting once a week online for your favorites. Every time you vote, you are automatically entered into a drawing to win one of ten $25 gift certificates to ShopAAUW.

Enter soon and encourage your friends to enter this exciting new AAUW contest. Then, make sure to visit the AAUW Design Gallery to see all the terrific artwork submissions and vote for your favorites.

Help us to ensure that the boxes of cards we mail to AAUW members next spring are uniquely AAUW."

From the Past: AAUW in 1980

From the Past by Bernie Carpino, Branch Historian

Louise Flood unearthed a 1980 copy of Graduate Woman (AAUW’s national publication at that time).

A quick look provides some interesting observations:

1. Passage of the Equal Right Amendment was a major AAUW goal
2. Feature articles covered these topics: the need for more monetary support for foster families; non-sexist books for older children; an interview with Turkey’s first and only woman cabinet minister (she resigned a few weeks after the interview because needed reforms weren’t being carried out); job and salary sharing by two teachers.
3. Projects reported by local branches: an ERA rally; conference “Menopause Out of the Closet;” a TV program honoring women; workshop on Families Facing Change; an arts and crafts fair; sponsorship of an operatic concert, and sale of pecan.
4. The magazine was much smaller and far less glossy.

Thanks for the memories, Louise!

Welcome AAUW Webinar Participants!

The Kingston AAUW board members welcome our colleagues from across the country to our website/blog at Wednesday night's webinar -- An introduction to Blogger for hosting AAUW websites.

We're delighted that you chose us as your sample blog/website to discuss and hope you can benefit from our experience. We've certainly learned a lot since last June when we launched the site.

Read our comments to see some of the things we like about our two blogs, some of the things we've learned, and some of our hopes for the future. And, of course, our advice and best wishes!

Have a great webinar. Leave us a comment on a post or two so we know you've been here.

We hope to visit your branch website/blog soon.

Photo by R@punseLL

How did women vote on Tuesday?

AAUW DIAlog is the brand new blog brought to you by the AAUW staff at National. I encourage you to take a look. Here are some interesting stats from DIAlog blogger Seth Chase's post on Super Duper Tuesday.

• Women were more likely to vote Democratic than men, who were more likely to vote Republican.
• 80% of African American women voted for Barack Obama.
• 64% of Latinas voted for Hillary Clinton.
• 59% of white women voted for Hillary Clinton.
• Women over 60 were most likely to vote for Clinton (55%).
• John McCain held a small lead over Mitt Romney among women voters.

You can read the headlines for their posts in our sidebar. And you can subscribe to their updates via email or RSS feed. Pay them a visit and welcome them to the 'blogosphere.'

AAUW Every Member Poll Extended

National sent a message today that the poll, so important to the national strategic planning effort, has been extended to February 1.

Hard copy and return envelop were distributed in the Fall/Winter issue of Outlook, the National AAUW magazine. You can also complete it on-line by clicking on the 'DEADLINE EXTENDED for Every Member Poll - Jan 25, 2008' link in the AAUW News feed in the right column.

Don't wait! Have a voice in AAUW's future. Do it now!

Note: if you don't know your membership id number to sign in, just click the link for the member id search. It's quick and easy.

Debates 101 - How to watch political debates

From: Bill Moyer’s Journal Guest Blogger:

Debate Watching 101 with Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Director
Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania [link]











(Photo by Robin Holland)

By Kathleen Hall Jamieson
1) I recommend not watching the coverage immediately before the debate and, when the debate is finished, turn the television off and talk with your family about what you saw and what was important to you. And think about what you saw.
2) Candidates make different assumptions about government's role, about economic policy, about the value of government regulation, about the role of the US in the world, about appropriate use of military power, about US relationships with other countries... and the like. What are the governing philosophies of the candidates?
3) Come to a debate with a list of the issues that matter to you and ask what you learned about each candidate's record and promises on those issues. Where are they similar and how do they differ?
4) When a candidate promises a new program or any move that will reduce government revenue -- how will the candidate pay for it? Increase the deficit? Cut spending elesewhere and if so where? Raise taxes? On whom?
5) How accurate are candidates' descriptions of opponents' programs? And how accurate are a candidate's descriptions of his or her own record?
6) Is the candidate willing to tell voters things they don't want to hear about the challenges facing the country and what is required to address them?
7) If the country were faced with a crisis, what can you know from the candidates' past performance, character, and dispositions about whether the country would be in good hands?
In addition to Professor Jamieson's advice, you might wish to check candidate accuracy at one of the following websites:
FactCheck.org FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, which Jamieson directs, that aims to monitor the accuracy of major national candidates' statements and rhetoric.
COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW: Campaign Desk The journalists at CJR turn their attention to "auditing" campaign ads, speeches and other media moments. In addition to CJR staff a group of veteran journalists will add their perspective to the Campaign Desk's analysis.
The Fact-Checker Run by veteran journalist Michael Dobbs, The Fact-Checker is a project of the WASHINGTON POST that publishes research evaluating and providing background and context to candidate statements and popular political stories.
Politifact and Truth-0-Meter Politifact is an extensively cross-referenced fact-checking resource run as a joint project by the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES and CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY.