Early word from California is that it is moving towards a bylaws change that would allow a council form of governance — the convention would elect directors and then the directors would elect officers from among themselves.
This may make good sense for states as well as branches.
For a relatively full discussion of this in the context of the branch, see the Governance Resources section of wiki.bbvx.org.
There’s a sentiment in the organization that we need to put the word philanthropy into certain lists of key concepts. For instance, the article about the strategic process that’s been distributed to state newsletter editors for their winter editions, says
For 125 years, AAUW has been advancing equity for women and girls through education, advocacy, philanthropy, and research
It just strikes me as odd to put philanthropy in that list. Maybe my English teachers spent too much time drumming “parallel construction” into my head.
Philanthropy is what allows us to make a difference with education, advocacy and research. It’s not an end in itself.
And I, for one, think we need to link philanthropy (giving dollars) with volunteerism (giving time) to really understand the scope of the effort we’ve been making for the last 125 years.
So it’s important – critical even – but let’s put it in it’s proper place.
The AAUW NC exec committee, acting as the bylaws committee, moved forward with two initiatives.
More information on both of these changes is available at wiki.bbvx.org/index.php?title=Governance_Resources — see the “Branch without Borders” and the “Council form of branch governance“.
This article was written from an entirely different context (environmental concerns, culture in general), but I think it has something to say for our process.
When normal is a moving target. Raleigh News and Observer, Jan. 11, 2007 —
[There are] two lines: the one that runs across the bottom of how we expect the world to be and the one that runs across the top of the world that we will tolerate. Those lines are constantly changing position in cultural space. …
Shifting baselines “are the chronic, slow, hard-to-notice changes in things, from the disappearance of birds and frogs in the countryside to the increased drive time from Los Angeles to San Diego,” writes marine biologist Randy Olson. “If your ideal weight used to be 150 pounds and now it’s 160, your baseline — as well as your waistline — has shifted.” …
Can we apply this notion to communicate our process? Do some still hold to the baseline of AAUW as the organization that sent them a year’s worth of program, provided hands on support from the national office, and was their only way to connect with other educated women? How to we encourage them to change?
This is a multi-user blog for discussing change at AAUW. Updates will be posted here periodically with pointers to information appropriate for all members.
If, however, you really want to participate in this discussion, we ask that you register. Most of the content is in categories that are visible only to those who are logged in.
If you don’t want to register, you can use the Resource links on the left (some restricted to AAUW members) and be sure to read the information in the current and upcoming issues of Outlook and your state newsletters.
Thanks.