Alumnae Association Records (OF-1S-7zp)

This collection is divided into 8 series: I. Andrews Association II. Governance III. Officers IV. Fundraising A. Annual funds B. Scholarships, loans, memorials and other fundraising projects C. Buildings V. Committees VI. Other Alumnae Association activities VII. Clubs VIII. Alumnae office and class officers

Series I: Andrews Association contains constitutions, annual Andrews Association reports, and other material documenting the activities of the alumnae association before its name change.

Series II: Governance consists of an organizational chart, constitutions and by-laws, and minutes, agendas, and reports from executive board, executive committee, and board of directors meetings, and from the annual meetings. Annual meeting minutes and reports include reports from a variety of committees. In addition to documenting the decision-making and decisions made by the Alumnae Association, this series provides information about the association's relationship to Brown University and its corporation (e.g., the campaign for an alumnae trustee). The series contains information relating to activities documented in all of the remaining series. For background on decisions regarding the constitution, see series V. Also see the Alumnae Record (University Archives: 1-ZA B812a) which contains annual or semi-annual reports.

Series III: Officers contains lists and election ballots describing officers and the election process, as well as papers of specific officers, particularly President Sophie (Schaffer) Blistein and Executive Secretary Gertrude Allen McConnell, and early treasurer's accounts.

Series IV: Fundraising is divided into three subseries, each arranged chronologically. For material about class agents, who played a large part in raising funds, see series VIII. Several committees (see series V) were involved in fundraising, in particular, see the Academic Committee, Brown Social Hall Fund Committee, Play Committee, Quality Group Magazine Committee, Scholarship Committee, Semi-centennial Anniversary Committee, and the Soliciting Committee.

Subseries IVA: Annual funds contains accounts, lists of donors, reports, correspondence, and broadsides, pamphlets, newsletters, form letters, form letters, and cards used to raise money for the Brown Alumnae Fund, which became the Pembroke College Fund ca. 1954. Also in this subseries are a program and report from the Pembroke College Development Fund, which may have been part of the Pembroke College Fund. For a history of the BAF, see the 1944-1953 scrapbook.

Subseries IVB: Buildings contains accounts, pamphlets, and newsletters documenting alumnae efforts to raise funds for several campus buildings. This subseries also includes an inventory of alumnae gifts located in several buildings. Subseries IVC: Scholarships, loans, memorials, and other fundraising projects consists of reports, programs, correspondence, by-laws and other material documenting several alumnae funds for specific purposes, such as scholarships or a garden. Subseries IVA contains additional information about each of these, and other, specific funds.

Series V: Committees consists of lists of committee members, minutes, reports, scrapbooks, broadsides, programs, and correspondence documenting many Alumnae Association committees throughout its history. Additional committee reports are located in series II, particularly within the annual meeting reports. This series is arranged alphabetically by committee name. A file containing committee reports dating from 1971 through 1973 was not interfiled; researchers should consult the description accompanying this folder, which is entitled "various committee." Many early committee reports include detailed descriptions of female student life on both the Brown University campus, and at other institutions, particularly women's colleges, such as Radcliffe College.

Series VI: Other Alumnae Association activities is arranged chronologically and contains invitations, reports, scrapbooks, programs, lists, clippings, an events register, a cookbook and other material documenting many of the activities sponsored by the association, including the Alumnae Council.

Series VII: Clubs consists of a list, instructions and a handbook prepared by the Alumnae Association for club leaders, and individual club records, including minutes, announcements, programs, correspondence, clippings, by-laws, and accounts. This series is arranged alphabetically by state, and then alphabetically by club names. Many clubs changed their names several times, reflecting changes in the title of the Women's College in Brown University. The common progression was from the Brown Association (or Club) of Placename, to the Pembroke College of Placename near the 1971 merger. The records are filed according to the most recent name found in these files. Although many of the clubs led a fairly independent life, technically they reported to the Alumnae Association; thus, their records are contained in this collection. One exception is the Pembroke Afternoon Reading Group, which grew out of the Providence club but became a separate entity. PARG forms a separate collection in the archives (OF-1S-8zp).

Series VIII: Alumnae office and class officers, arranged chronologically, contains a handbook, minutes, broadsides, accounts, and other material. For more information about the newsletter, see the editor's papers in the University Archives.