AAUW Dover Branch Calendar 2006-07

2006-2007 Meeting Calendar

September 9 (9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) @ the Duncan Center
Delaware State Board Meeting

September 18 (6:30 p.m.) Hosted by Joyce Parent
Covered dish Awarding of Returning Woman's Scholarship -- Buck-a-Book

October 2 (7:00 p.m.) Hosted by Jeannie DeLeo @ the Physical Therapy Associates
Board Meeting

October 16 (7:00 p.m.) Hosted by Leta Fennell @ the Wesley College, Room 206C, College Center
Speaker: Dr. Calvin Wilson --Topic:HPV Virus -- Buck-a-Book

November 20 (7:00 p.m.) Hosted by Robin Smith @ the Wesley College, Room 206C, College Center
Speaker: Margie Harding - Ms. Harding is a free lance writer who writes inspirational books -- Buck-a-Book

December 11 (7:00 p.m.) Hosted by Linda Cooper-Duncan @ the Duncan Center
December Holiday Social to benefit EF with Silent Auction -- Buck-a-Book

January 6 (9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) @ the Dover Century Club
Delaware State Board Meeting

January 8 (7:00 p.m.) Hosted by Jeannie DeLeo @ the Physical Therapy Associates
Board Meeting

January 20 (11:30 a.m.) Hosted by Linda Cooper-Duncan @ the Duncan Center
Brunch - Travel Based Experiences -- Buck-a-Book

March 3 @ Clayton Hall, University of Delaware
Delaware Women's Conference

March 5 (7:00 p.m.) Hosted by Jeannie DeLeo @ the Physical Therapy Associates
Board Meeting

March 19 (7:00 p.m.) Hosted by Ann Alexander @ the Wesley College, Room 206C, College Center
Disasters:  Hurricanes and Floods and American Red Cross -- Buck-a-Book

April 14 @ the Duncan Center
Delaware AAUW State Meeting

April 16 (6:30 p.m.) TBA
Dinner Meeting - Joyce Parent will speak about her recent trip to Southeast Asia -- Buck-a-Book

May 5 @ The Green, Dover
Dover Days Food Booth

May 21 (7:00 p.m.) @ the Wesley College, Room 206C, College Center
Youth Scholarships/Entertainment -- Buck-a-Book

June 9 (9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) @ the Dover Century Club
Delaware State Board Meeting

June 11 (7:00 p.m.) Hosted by Jeannie DeLeo @ the Physical Therapy Associates
Board Meeting

 

Book Club Schedule

9/26 The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger; Hostess - Ann Alexander

10/24 Wives Behaving Badly, Elizabeth Buchan; Hostess - Linda Duncan

11/28 Gilead, Marilynne Robinson; Hostess - Pat Thompson

1/23 My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult; Hostess - Nadine Noble

1/27 Marley and Me, John Grogan; Hostess - Shirley Dunham

3/27 The Ha Ha, David King; Hostess - Anne Mace

4/24 The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson; Hostess - Minnie Hill

5/22 Amazing Traveler, Isabelle Bird/Evelyn Kaye; Hostess - Jackie Cowan

6/26 Women of the Silk, Gail Tsukiuami; Hostess - Ginny Welgan

President’s Message 

Happy Anniversary to AAUW! Our Founding officially took place on November 28, 1881. That makes us 125 years old! In Delaware, both Dover Branch and State AAUW represented proclamation signings by Mayor Speed and Governor Minner respectively. 

Nationally, eighty-six years after women received the hard-fought right to vote, we will see a record 16 women US Senators and 70 women Representatives convene with the 110^th Congress in January. Yes, it’s a far cry from equal representation, but gender and ethnic diversity have never been this strong in our elected bodies – and quality as well as quantity is important. 

For example, Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) will be the first woman Speaker of the US House of Representatives – the most powerful position in that chamber – and “two heart-beats” away from the Presidency. Women are poised to head up powerful committees in both houses: such as Senator Barbara Boxer on the Environment and Diane Feinstein on the Senate Rules & Administration Committee. 

Nationally, a record number of 2431 women ran for state legislative seats. Sarah Palin of Alaska became the newest female governor (increasing the total number to nine including our own Ruth Ann Minner), and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano is head of the National Governor’s Association.

Two important questions are raised: Why so many women elected in 2006? And, Why have we never elected a woman President?

The apparent answer to the first question is that women with experience and qualifications are only now coming through the pipeline – and they connect via the Internet! The answer to the second is more complex.  Various 2006 polls (Gallup, CBS/NY TIMES, Hearst) consistently show that over half of Americans believe that a woman could be elected president. Other countries are way ahead of us.

True, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice holds our top cabinet post and heads up foreign affairs, and she is joined by women in similar positions in the U.K., Israel, Greece, and Nigeria. In national elected positions, popular Angela Merkel is Germany’s first woman Chancellor; moderate socialist Michele Bachelet is Chile’s first female president. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia is the first woman president in all of Africa and is helping put former president Charles Taylor on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Former dissident Han Myung-sook is now South Korea’s first woman prime minister. Ireland, Finland, and Latvia all have woman presidents. Mozambique and New Zealand have woman prime ministers and 32% of New Zealand’s parliament is women (up from 13% in 1984).

So, isn’t it time for a woman president in the USA? Exploratory committees are being formed by early hopefuls for the 2008 presidential contest. Let’s hope they include women of both political parties. And let’s hope that AAUW helps keep that pipeline full!

Progress is here, but Equity is Still an Issue!

Dorene Petrosky, Ph.D.

 (Sources: Forbes list of 30 most powerful women in politics; Center for Women

                           In Politics, Eagleton Institute, Rutgers University; NYTimes; Wash. Post)