OUTCOMES, COMMUNITY OUTREACH & SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVES

By: Dr. Donna Wilson, C/U Partnership Director   Partnerships offer more than free AAUW memberships to students. Find out how much more – here.

Dr. Donna M. Wilson

During 2017-2018, the AAUW-ODC Executive Board, as part of its annual goal setting, deliberated strategies to increase membership, to schedule programs which reflected relevant and insightful issues and discussed other relevant topics related to the branch’s future. Focusing on the organization’s mission to advance gender equity for women and girls through research, education and advocacy, enhanced community outreach surfaced as a prioritized and achievable goal for our branch.

As a follow up to the goal setting, Board officers, Drs. Michele Hoyman, Mary Kolek, and Donna Wilson led a “Futures and Strategic Planning Workshop” for branch members in January 2018. Discussion topics included: community outreach, new member recruitment, program topics, increasing connections/partnerships with area colleges and universities and other relevant advocacy initiatives for young women and girls. In addition, simultaneous to these workshop discussions, the Board voted on a branch name change from Chapel Hill to AAUW-Orange, Durham and Chatham Counties, realistically representing the total catch basin area of our membership, recruitment and community outreach efforts.

One of the prioritized strategic initiatives from this workshop was enhanced community outreach, which included expanding partnerships with local colleges and universities and establishing branch-funded scholarships. Dr. Donna Wilson, formerly Vice President for Programs, was appointed as Director of College and University Partnerships.

That the AAUW-ODC branch already had an established and funded Carrie Heath Schwenning Scholarship at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was the impetus and a “jump start” for the Board to move forward with other local scholarship awards. Criteria for the Schwenning Scholarship and awarding to a woman graduate student with financial need, also served as founding principles for the creation of additional named scholarships at area colleges.

For 2019, the Board selected North Carolina Central University (NCCU) as the recipient of a second local scholarship to be awarded to a graduate woman student in the amount of $1,500 annually. Dr. Wilson initiated contact with the Office of Institutional Advancement to begin discussions, implementation and criteria for the scholarship. Enhanced criteria included academic merit, commitment to leadership, advocacy for women and girls and financial need.

Following the successful implementation NCCU’s Scholarship, the Executive Board voted to fund a third scholarship in the amount of $1.000 at Durham Technical Community College (DTCC) in 2020 and a fourth scholarship in the amount of $1,000 to Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) in 2021. These two scholarships included the criteria as outlined above, but also tailored to a two-year community college.                        Donate – Click here

As our branch moves forward with enhanced community outreach and initiatives, we depend upon the generosity and loyalty from our members. AAUW-ODC members have definitely demonstrated their commitment and support as strong advocates for scholarship awards which benefit local women in the Triangle area.