University Woman Texas

Volume 73 l Issue 5 l May 2022

50^th AAUW Texas Conference Recap

Message from the President

Thank you to everyone who voted in the AAUW Texas election. We have a new slate of board officers: President Lynn Hagan; Program VP, Mary Smith; Membership VP, Sara Wood; Fund VP, Margie Poole; Finance Officer, Diane Roberts; Secretary, Lucy Barrington; Central District Representative, Cheryl Fuller; North District Representative, Cheri Butler; and South District Representative, Betsy Calabro. We have a candidate for representative from the West District and are in the process of getting her approved.

All the proposed bylaws changes were approved and will be effective at the start of the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Your state board includes many appointed positions including – Bylaws Chair, Public Policy Chair, Website and Facebook Communications, and SHARE Grants Coordinator. If you have an interest in any of these positions – don’t be shy – contact us at [email protected] and let Lynn know of your interest.

The virtual 50^th State Meeting, Golden Opportunity Conference was attended by 137 different email logins, and many people were watching with groups of friends. I think 150 is a conservative estimate for the number of attendees! Thank you for coming. Your State Board was delighted to share the great speakers with so many of you.

We recorded the entire day, and the recording is available on our AAUW Texas YouTube site using this link: https://youtu.be/tz7nr9Rrpso If you missed all or part of our 50^th State Conference, you may now view what you missed – and watch again, those portions you enjoyed most.

Here is the approximate location on the recording of the different presentations:

Jackie Littleton - 8 minutes

Kevin Stewart - 1 hour 48 minutes

Malinda Gaul - 3 hours 34 minutes

Coach Pebley - 4 hours 12 minutes

Dr. Jackson - 4 hours 58 minutes

You will also be able to view the slide shows of branch pictures and the Celebration portion of the meeting occurs in the recording between Kevin Stewart and Malinda Gaul.

Your branch might consider playing one of the speaker videos for a branch meeting and then discussing the topic. If your branch is working on the Five Star Award program, one of your meetings needs to have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion focus such as that provided by Dr. Taharee Jackson.

Thank you to Terry Whaley, your state Program Vice President and the Local Arrangements Team headed by Dixie Christian and Paula Jernigan for all the hard work that went in to producing this day of programming.

It has been my privilege to serve as your state president for the past two years. Thank you for this opportunity. There is still much for us to do as we are still a long way from achieving “Equity for All.”

Gloria Long

AAUW Texas President

Message from the Program Vice President

50^th AAUW Texas Conference

A Golden Opportunity

On April 30, AAUW Texas celebrated the 50^th AAUW Texas Conference and the 50^th Anniversary of Title IX with a Golden Opportunity to highlight and celebrate the successes of AAUW Texas for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Gloria Long, AAUW Texas President opened the conference by welcoming the online audience and gave a brief introduction to the day’s activities.

Our first speaker, Jackie Littleton, Tyler branch member and Legacy Circle liaison, introduced her book: The Lady and the Letters. The book is about Esther Brunauer who was an AAUW staff member who helped get female academics out of Nazi occupied countries prior to World War II. It is a fascinating story, so watch for Jackie’s book to be published.

A short business meeting was held to announce the results of the election and introduce the new 2022-2024 board members. The bylaws changes were announced, and Treasurer Diane Roberts gave a summary of the financial status of AAUW Texas.

Kevin Stewart, our legislative consultant, gave a summary of the successes and challenges of the work of the Texas Legislature. He encouraged AAUW Texas to continue to contact state representatives to forward the goals of our organization.

AAUW accomplishments were celebrated by state board members:

Margie Poole, Funds VP announced the Branch and Member donation winners.

Barbara Cager, VP Membership highlighted the Outstanding New Member and Member Awards.

Gloria Long, AAUW President read the names of all the AAUW Texas 50-year members recognizing the amazing dedication of these women.

During the breaks throughout the day, slide shows created by Betsy Calabro and Mary Smith ran showing branch and member accomplishments, activities, and the camaraderie of our members. Look for the slide shows on AAUW Texas You Tube to view them again.

Malinda Gaul, former AAUW Texas President, and current member of the national board gave us a summary of the difficulties that the national leadership has encountered with updating the member database and encouraged everyone to be patient with the process.

Our keynote speakers were Raegan Pebley, Head Texas Christian University Women’s Basketball Coach, and Dr. Taharee Jackson, Tonesetter in Chief and founder of DrTaharee Consulting.

Coach Pepbey gave some history of Title IX and introduced some important women who supported and benefitted from the legislation that AAUW helped champion. She reminded us that the work continues to insure equal access to sports and other educational activities to women and girls.

Dr. Taharee Jackson challenged AAUW to recognize racism and other injustices and work to overcome them. She cited the work of Jonathan Osler who proposed the categories of Actors, Allies, and Accomplices as a process to understand and facilitate real change to social injustice. You will be able find Dr. Jackson’s slide presentation and reference links on the AAUW Texas website.

The 50^th AAUW Texas was a great “online” gathering of women throughout the state of Texas. As we go forward as an organization, please continue to support the state board, your local branch leaders, and fellow members. Together we can make change happen.

Terry Whaley

AAUW Texas Program Vice President

Ideas to Increase Age and Ethnic Branch Diversity

By Barbara Cager, Terry Whaley, Sara Wood and Mary Smith

Invite friends you know from other organizations, such as sororities or other ladies’ groups, to attend an AAUW meeting.
Follow up with guests by sending a note of appreciation.
Encourage your members to be warm, friendly, and inviting to guests and new members.
Have branch meetings with diverse speakers that appeal to a diverse membership.
Have Branch business cards printed with contact info that can be given out whenever you are someplace where prospective members are.
Highlight your branch diversity on your branch Facebook page and in Newsletter Member Highlights.
Appoint diverse members to Board offices.
Book club interest groups can choose books with themes of diversity.
Give a branch earned Free Membership to a prospective membe.r
Invite prospects from Black/Hispanic sororities.
Join with a minority organization to have a joint meeting.
Search for younger members through an affiliation with a nearby Junior College/College.
Check for local colleges that might have female administration open to being an AAUW member.
Follow local politics to find candidates that are prospective members.
Assign a branch mentor to all new members to help diverse members feel welcome.
Have an annual meeting that is just to socialize with other members/prospects.

May 2022 Public Policy Review

While we recently rejoiced in the Senate's approval of Ketanji Brown Jackson's upcoming placement on the Supreme Court, we are still facing several concerns.

The leak of a draft opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn federal law Roe vs. Wade earlier this month caused immediate public opposition. A recent UT Austin poll shows, however, that 78% of Texas voters support some form of abortion rights, and a majority oppose a measure that automatically bans all abortion when Roe is overturned. Anti-abortion extremists do not represent the majority of Texans or Americans Since the draft opinion is not a final court order, persons seeking an abortion can continue to make and attend their related appointments until an official announcement from SCOTUS appears. Yes, abortion remains legal in the United States and even in Texas until it is banned on the federal level. Although abortion is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution as a personal right, the right of personal privacy is listed. AAUW considers abortion to be a valid personal and private choice.

On May 6, AAUW's Washington Update addressed this issue in the following statement: “This week, the leak of a draft opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case indicates that the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which established abortion as a constitutionally protected right. As serious as the implications of this decision may be, first it’s worth remembering that, until a Supreme Court ruling is official, the law has NOT changed. And second, know that AAUW is working closely with coalition partners to direct our members on the best next steps as the situation unfolds. The silver lining around this week’s news: Times of crisis often inspire a surge in activism, and we encourage both longtime advocates and new supporters to make their voices heard. The U.S. Senate has already reacted and is finally scheduling a vote for next week on the Women’s Health Protection Act! As the Senate approaches this historic opportunity, we urge you to use our new Rallying for Abortion Rights toolkit to take action!”

Among other current issues of public policy interest on the federal level, we can continue to support reducing the student debt crisis, which affects mostly women, and passing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the ERA, and other bills to promote pay fairness to establish paid leave for families, and to protect our planet from climate change disasters.

Get Out the Vote (GOTV), to register and vote on the federal level, will be emphasized during the summer, On the state level, however, we can stay aware of upcoming run-off elections in our own communities this month, encourage our friends and family members to vote, and vote ourselves.

Locally we are aware of numerous attempts to ban books in our school libraries and public libraries. In response, the Texas Library Association has organized a grassroots coalition of concerned Texas residents called Texans for the Right to Read. Its purpose is to educate the public and oppose any current or future legislation, regulations, or executive order that infringe upon First Amendment rights and intellectual freedom. More information is available at https://texansfortherighttoread.com.

The next AAUW Texas public policy meeting on Zoom will take place at 6:30 on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Please consider joining us at that time, when all attendees will be welcome to participate in the discussion of these and other public policy concerns. You may RSVP to Pat Rehm at [email protected] to receive the link.

Marsi Liddell - Central District Representative

This will likely be the final communication from me to all of the Central District branches in Texas. As your District Rep, I wanted to let you know that I am amazed and impressed with what all of you have done during the last two years – Covid notwithstanding. My dismay is that due to Covid, I was just not able to meet and visit with you in person. That would have been so much more rewarding and certainly easier to get to know each of the branches in a more personal way. I especially want to thank all the branch Presidents for their sharing of what was going on in the branch with me. My departure is based on the fact that I have accepted an appointment as CEO of a local philanthropic organization here in Georgetown and I just didn’t think I would be able to serve both in the excellent manner which I would want to provide. That said, I will leave a successor for Central District Rep who is outstanding. Her name is Cheryl Fuller and she will be the immediate Past President of the San Antonio branch. Hopefully she will be able to join you all in person. I know she will represent you well.

On another note, I want to say a heartfelt Thank You to all my friends and colleagues at the State level. It has been a challenging few years to say the least. But I truly appreciate what each of you have done to be supportive at the State. Many of you will be staying on and I wish you the very best…..especially to our new President, Lynn Hagan.

Good luck and best wishes as you continue to fulfill the mission of AAUW.

Sincerely,

Marsi Liddell

Northeast Tarrant County Branch

Legacy Circle Members

26 and Counting!

From left to right: Margaret Martin, Dixie Christian, Rosemary Jobe, Polly Post, Ilze Kalnajs, Mimi Nimocks, Mary Ann Goetz, Jackie Littleton (AAUW Legacy Circle Team), Diane Siegel, Gloria Long, Claudia Foreman, Cheri Butler, Ginny Phoenix, Martha Ragsdale, Pat Cheong, Jean Dodds, Pat Lucas, Paula Jernigan

Not in the picture: Lynn Doyle, Lynn Millner, Anna Holzer, Martha Matthews, Meg Sprenkle, Keith Dodds, Janet Key, Susan Kidwell Pine, Cheryl Dale

AAUW Emails

You probably never thought you’d say it, but did we hear that you aren’t getting enough emails? AAUW National has received reports that some members are not receiving emails. This cannot go on! If you think you’re missing out, click HERE and update your preferences to get back on the AAUW email list. Don’t say we never did you any favors.

Lynn Hagan Receives 2022-2024 Phi Kappa Phi

Ray Sylvester Distinguished Service Award

Lynn Purnell Hagan, incoming AAUW Texas President and a licensed therapist and consultant, has been chosen by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi — the nation’s oldest and most selective all discipline honor society — as the 2022-2024 recipient of the Phi Kappa Phi Ray Sylvester Distinguished Service Award. Hagan received the award for her outstanding dedication to service extending beyond academia.

Hagan, a native of Houston, Texas, received her bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M University. At the University of Southern Mississippi, she received a Master of Science in recreation, a Master of Social Work and was initiated into Phi Kappa Phi. She received her doctorate in psychology from California Southern University and has worked with survivors of trauma in a variety of settings for 25 years.

Much of Hagan's volunteer work has focused on social justice, equity and education for women and girls. Her work has spanned the globe and found her serving others from her home state of Texas to Kuwait.

"Having a lifetime of service, I am very proud to receive the Service Award," said Hagan. "Being recognized by such a prestigious organization, it brings such service to the forefront and serves as an inspiration to others to carry on and make having a servant heart something to which to be truly proud."

Named in memory of Dr. Ray Sylvester, who at the time of his death served as president-elect, the Phi Kappa Phi Ray Sylvester Distinguished Service Award honors an individual who has provided sustained, non-compensated volunteer service to others beyond the realm of academia. The award was established in 2013 and is awarded once per biennium.