By Sheila Ramerman
Julia Brown, AAUW National Board Chair
On Sunday, March 21, AAUW Oregon co-presidents Pat Lehman and Sue Klumph hosted an online Town Hall, featuring AAUW National Board Chair Julia Brown. Brown gave an overview of the work the board is doing, presented work and discussion to date on the proposed bylaws change to remove the requirement to hold a degree, and responded to questions and comments from the group.
Over 50 members from across the State were in the meeting, and we heard a summary of the national online Town Hall to discuss the bylaws amendment. All of the feedback from the national town hall is posted on the AAUW website. In general, most members speaking up were in favor, and the prevailing comments were related to remaining mindful of AAUW’s mission (advancing equity for women and girls); that education, knowledge, and capabilities come from life experience as well as from formal studies. Julia Brown reminded us that many women of distinction – Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Lilly Ledbetter, Oprah Winfrey – did not go to college or did not finish college.
Julia herself wasn’t always a fan of removing the degree requirement, but from her involvement in a branch Tech Trek program, she saw girls, who wouldn’t otherwise have considered college, realize that it was possible. Some girls realized that college wasn’t always necessary; there were vocational paths that would get them to where they wanted to be.