THIRTIETH
ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE OF THE VIRGINIA GILDERSLEEVE
INTERNATIONAL FUND TO BE HELD AT BARNARD COLLEGE
APRIL 8
|
Virginia
Gildersleeve
|
March
22, 2000, New York, N.Y. -- Saturday, April 8, 8
a.m.-5:30 p.m., the Virginia Gildersleeve International
Fund, Inc. (VGIF) celebrates its 30th anniversary
at Barnard College with a program honoring Virginia
Gildersleeve, the former head of Barnard and an
advocate for women's rights.
The
day-long program includes breakfast and lunch, the
presentation of grants for 2000, a keynote address
on the life of Virginia Gildersleeve, and a question
and answer period regarding the VGIF. There will
also be opportunities to visit Dean Gildersleeve's
preserved living quarters adjacent to the former
dormitory area at Barnard College and to view exhibits
about her and her many-faceted career. The event
will conclude with a tea party in the style of those
given by Dean Gildersleeve.
The
VGIF was founded by 11 women three decades ago in
response to the need for funds to initiate and sustain
projects that benefit women in developing countries.
These projects, undertaken by affiliates of the
International Federation of University Women (IFUW)
as outreach activities, focused on education and
training, economic self-sufficiency, and community
development. IFUW could not fund such projects,
and the Gildersleeve Fund organizers saw a niche
to fill. They started with $300 and have disbursed
more than $650,000 to date. The VGIF now has over
1,300 members from 47 countries.
Virginia
Gildersleeve, Dean of Barnard College from 1911-47,
lobbied to open Columbia University's professional
schools to women and was an outspoken feminist.
She was a co-founder of the International Federation
of University Women in 1919 and was twice elected
as its president. She served the United States as
the only woman in her country's delegation to the
San Francisco Conference that drafted the Charter
of the United Nations. The Gildersleeve Fund was
named in recognition of Virginia Gildersleeve's
lifelong efforts for peace and the advancement of
women and human rights.
The United States Delegation assigned Virginia Gildersleeve
to convince Technical Committee 11/3 of the United
Nations Charter Conference to include the Commission
on Human Rights as a specific entity in the proposed
Economic and Social Council. Dean Gildersleeve was
successful and recalled that working in unity with
colleagues from "opposite ends of the earth" gave
her "faith occasionally in the brotherhood of man"
and belief "that sometime, somehow, all nations
of the world can work together for their common
good."
What: The 30th anniversary conference of the Virginia
Gildersleeve International Fund
When
& Where: Saturday, April 8, 2000, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.,
Barnard College, Barnard Hall (117th & Broadway)
Please contact Fay Kittelson at (212) 684-6068 for
more information or to register by April 1. The
$30 registration fee covers meals, a commemorative
booklet, informative materials, and favors.
Contact:
Petra Tuomi, Associate Director of Public Affairs.
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