Wednesday, November 15, 2017

The Story of The UCLA Faculty Women's Club: Wrapping Up Essential Achievements 1918-2018

by Zorana Ercegovac

Our Fifth General Meeting held on April 17th 2018 was a great success. It was indeed celebratory. A multi-part Centennial Program included a welcome by FWC President (2017-2018) Barbara Lippe along with vote for the 2018-2019 Executive Board officers.

Zorana Ercegovac presented her Multi-Media Album honoring FWC. We heard voices of FWC members since late 1950s, saw dozens of digitized photos of FWC members and traditions, and reminiscent of historical contexts which championed human's rights, women's rights, equality, access to learning and higher education, environmental protection, Child Labor Reform, advances in communication and transportation industries, and so much more. A few pictures are given below.
Zorana Ercegovac speaks at the Fifth General Meeting
UCLA's FWC is 100 years old and one month
Next, FWC's Music Section invited Victor Shlyakhtenko, a young star pianist, who performed pieces by L. van Beethoven, F. Chopin, and his own Piano Suite. Victor generously gave his time in answering questions form the audience.
Victor performing at the Faculty Center, California Room -- every seat was taken
The Event adjourned with a traditional presentation of roses in recognition of talented Section leaders.
Section chairs honored with Bruin-colored roses
Victor was available for QA and photo taking. It was a delightful and educational meeting.

Barbara Lippe with pianist Victor Shlyakhtenko

The UCLA Faculty Women's Club celebrates our 100th year. This special post gives a very condensed timeline of the essential achievements during these hundred years.
Our story begins with California State Normal School in San francisco in 1862. The School moved to San Jose and later became known as San Jose Normal School. In 1881 Southern branch was announced of California SNS with 61 students including 13 young men. The School was renamed Los Angeles State Normal School (LASNS) in 1887 with Dr. Ernest Carroll Moore of the SJNS as Director of the newly established School.
The California State Normal School at 5th Street and Grand Ave in Los Angeles
Dr. Moore wished to transform a 2-year college into a 4-year higher education institution that was part of University of California. He had been superintendent of Schools in LA, 1906-1910. He met with Mr. Edward A. Dickson, Los Angeles Express editor and the only Regent of UC from Southern California. These preliminary discussions were put in place for the founding of today's UCLA. Among the strongest advocates in this seminal transformational process was the LASNS Faculty Women's Club (FWC), founded in 1918. The LASNS faculty women supported the need for higher education in addition to teachers' training in Southern California. Miss Mary Burney Porter asked:

"Will you not give all an equal chance by helping to transform the Los Angeles Normal School into a higher education institution?"

Dr. Moore, Miss Porter, and Miss Chilton endorsed the Women's Legislative Council of California, representing more than 80,000 women voters "interested in welfare of women and children."
A broader societal context of the late 19th c. and early 20th c.
WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE Movement
Miss Porter and about 45 faculty members created the FWC of the LASNS on the Vermont campus on March 15, 1918 overnight in order to pass a measure before the WLCC. Dr. Moore joined the meeting that day to give the Club his blessing, prophesying growth.

This Spring 2018, we celebrate our 100th birthday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FWC

In 1919 Gov. William D. Stephenson of California signed State Assembly Bill 626 establishing the Southern Branch of UC with Dr. Moore at the helm (1919-1936), with 250 undergraduates, and 1,125 students in the Teachers Training Program.

SHOULD THE FWC CONTINUE?

The newly created Southern Branch had no scholarship programs, nor a facility for social life and networking to support the faculty. FWC saw this need and filled this gap. There were 63 women faculty, 35 male faculty, and 1,375 students to support in various ways. The FWC voted to offer membership not only to women faculty, but also to faculty wives. Venues moved from the FWC Clubhouse on the Vermont campus to UCLA's Women's Gym, to Kerckhoff Hall, and later to the Faculty Center in Westwood Village (February 1959). As one of the founding groups, FWC has a representative on the Faculty Center Board of Governors.

Fundraising galas were held for the Faculty Center in Westwood:
"Put your hearts in Your Faculty Club Building"
The raised fund for the Faculty Center building had a total of $29,525 of which UCLA FWC contributed $4,303 (with UCLA Faculty Women $2,075, and faculty administration and staff $23,147).

Our Fifth General Meeting on April 17, 2018 celebrates our Centennial Program that is detailed in the UPDATE April 2018 issue.
Details for the April General Meeting are here.
The Music Program to be performed by the young start Victor Shlyakhtenko is here.


HONORING FWC PAST will be presented on April 17, 2018 at the UCLA Faculty Center
by Zorana Ercegovac
Victor Shlyakhtenko, piano, will be playing Chopin, Liszt, and his own composition

ENTRANCE is FREE


A THREE-PRONG FWC MISSION: Facts and Figures

SPECIAL INTEREST SECTIONS (currently there are 18) -- Book Review Section was founded in 1927. Early Sections reflected interests and affinities of FWC members. See our UPDATE for current sections. Details are at SECTIONS 
The FWC Section Chairs met October 4, 2017 at the Faculty Center Library/Billiard Room
Sections represented by (from left): Rochelle Caballero (Play-reading), Sandy Spolsky (B-days),
Dianne Homsher (International Cooking),
Zorana Ercegovac (Vice-President, Sections and Music in Cultural Contexts)
Diane Childs (German), Marianne Tereszcuk (all bridge), Dorothea Frederking (German),
Phyllis Amboss (Writers), Elaine Wise (French), Mary Lou Ward (Galleries and Sites), Debby Kennel (Books)
Zorana at the piano accompanied our vocalists performing
some popular holiday carols from various origins
December 20th 2017 was our Music Section "Sing-Along" FEST: We invited, besides all music section members, those participating in Book and Play-reading sections, as well as the FWC Board along with husbands. It was a successful celebration We started off socializing over delicious potluck gathering, then we sang, even danced. The hosts were Jarka and Tom Wilcox.
Jarka Wilcox, our hostess, Zorana Ercegovac, Chair of Music Section
with Joy Frank, our Scholarship Chair

Shirley Ho, our Music Section soprano, started the music program with two Christmas carols, followed by the "Sing-Along" part of the program. Shirley will be the hostess for our February 2018 music section gathering, to be held at her home. 













SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS started off in 1936 with a seed contribution of $25.00 to the Scholarship Foundation. The Scholarship endowment is currently over $401,000 and growing. It has supported 201 UCLA students from 2001 to 2018 with a total of $364,600. We celebrate FWC recipients annually at the FWC Scholarship dinner award events. 

The Centennial 2018 Scholarship Dinner was a successful event, thanks to a team of hardworking FWC members: Joy Frank, Marjorie Friedlander, Shirley Ho, Barbara Lippe, Mary Cerrito, and Jaroslava Wilcox. 

A special thanks go to The Ho Family who generously contributed to the Scholarship Fund in memory of Shou-Nan Hsing Chang, Shirley's mother who passed away in 2017. 

The FWC Scholarship recipients included 2 at a graduate level and 10 undergraduates (photographed below). Each student gave a brief introduction about their work. It was a festive celebration of the FWC Scholarship Program and a great start of the Centennial Year.


The FWC Scholarship recipients at The Centennial Scholarship Dinner, February 2018
Our Third General Meeting, the FWC Scholarship Dinner on February 6, 2018, was well attended. The speaker was Dr. Kelsey C. Martin, the first woman dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 


Dr. Barbara Crandall, FWC Board member, chats with Dean Martin during a pre-dinner social
Dr. Martin's career path was demonstrated in her presentation "Lessons in Leadership: Peace Corps, Memory Research, and Medical Education."



She started off majoring in English and American language and literature at Harvard University. After having served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire to set up a public health program, she experience an AHA moment, which led her to the MD/PHD program at Yale University and postdoc training in neurobiology with Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel at Columbia University. She joined the UCLA faculty in 1999. 

We now turn a few years back when we welcomed Dr. Verna Porter, once our own Scholarship recipient!


Prof. Verna Porter was one of FWC's Scholarship recipients, photographed
with her mother and grandmother, all FWC members

UCLA students, 12 awarded recipients of the FWC Scholarship Programs

For details, please visit us at SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS

GENERAL PROGRAMS represent one of the three essential prongs of the UCLA Faculty Women's Club activities. Since 1934 we have had 473 general meetings. In 2000 Phyllis Amboss wrote dates, names of speakers, and program titles for each general meeting as published in UPDATE. In 2016, Pat Hardwick and Charlotte Brown produced "General Meeting Summaries 1920-2015," and "Historic Timelines 1918-2008."

For the FWC Centennial Year, Zorana Ercegovac has created condensed timelines: "FWC on One Sheet: Wrapping Up Essential Achievements Since 1918," and "The Story of the UCLA Faculty Women's Club: A Condensed Timeline." This serves as a reminder of our collective memory, HONORING OUR PAST. It is also a Table of Content for the April 2018 General Meeting when Zorana will expand this Timeline in her Multimedia Album Honoring FWC Through 100 Voices, Stories, and Images.


LAPD Sergeant Emada Tingirides was our October 2017 speaker 
We started off our Centennial Year with a presentation by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Sergeant Emada Tingirides and her husband Capt. Phil Tingirides. Sgt. Emada Tingirides is the recipient of The FWC 2017 Woman of Distinction Award. Phil (operating the projector, in the photo above) gave us historical overview of their many initiatives that are iconic in LAPD and in other nation-wide multi-agency districts.

The October 2017 General Meeting, held at the Faculty Center, was attended by Section Chairs who showcased our programs and recruited new members. 
Do you see yourself in the photo above?


Visit us often for more photos and stories. Share our story with your friends and encourage them to "follow" us on the FWC BLOG as the Centennial FWC members.


WITH A COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE 
ALWAYS IN DIALOG WITH THE PAST



Thursday, October 5, 2017

Celebrating FWC 100th Year

Our 2018-2019 UCLA's Faculty Women's Club Section Chairs Annual Meeting was held on October 3rd at the Faculty Center. Here is the group photo of this meeting attendees.

From left: Shirley Ho (invited as President-elect), Elisabeth Furster (Spanish)
Zorana Ercegovac (VP Sections), Sandy Spolsky (B-days), Marjorie Friedlander (Writers)
Dorothea Federking (German), Diane Childs (German), Phyllis Amboss (Writers)
Dianne Homsher (Cooking), Simone King (Tennis), Marianne Tereszcuk (Bridge)
Helene DesRuisseaux (French), Marianne Afifi (Cooking)
Photo credit: Patti Nagy
The meeting included a lively discussion on a variety of issues. Zorana, Vice President of Sections, suggested that the sections be more open to the entire membership rather than to our own section members; this would be a wonderful opportunity to our new members. Examples could include Writers' contributions to be performed by Play-Readers; another could be discussions among Book sections (e.g., "Flaubert's Parrot" by Julian Barnes in the Book Section with French Reading and Conversation); yet another is Music Section annual Holiday SING ALONG which invites members from Book Section and Play-Readers. Possibilities abound.

We invited all attendees to watch Roma King's film which will be showing October 21st in Santa Monica.
Roma holding her book "Footsteps in the Snow" which provides the basis
for the documentary film to be showing at the Laemmle Film Center in Santa Monica
Photo credit: Zorana Ercegovac

International Cooking would be another Section of special interest to all :-)

With fifteen existing Sections, Faculty Women's Club has started off our new season. Section Chairs met to introduce and discuss their events and plans for the 2017-2018 year. Our kickoff meeting was in the Faculty Center Library/Billiard Room on October 4th.
From left: Rochelle Caballero (Play-reading), Sandy Spolsky (B-days), Dianne Homsher (cooking),
Zorana Ercegovac, Vice President, Sections (music), Diane Childs (German Co-chair)
Marianne Tereszcuk (all 3 Bridge sections), Dorothea Frederking (German Co-chair)
Phyllis Amboss (Writers Co-chair), Elaine Wise (French)
Mary Lou Ward (Galleries & Sights), Debby Kennel (books)
Photo credit: Zorana Ercegovac
For full overview of all FWC Sections and their programs, please read our UPDATE.

IMPORTANT: All FWC members are encouraged to visit any of our section meetings to see what we do. We publish contact information for individual events and meetings, so call section chairs ahead of time to reserve your "best seat in the audience."

For MUSIC SECTION, our informal October 1st get together was at the Royce Hall for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) 50th birthday. We always find our members and meet new ones, like in the photo below.

Jo Knopoff with Zorana Ercegovac, and our new member June Bulkacz
New photos and stories will be added here from forthcoming events and programs.
Our October General meeting will take place in the California Room, Faculty Center, on October 17th at 1:30 PM. Prior to the meeting, all Sections will be there to meet, greet, and showcase their respective programs. Bring your friend(s) with you, calendars, and enthusiasm for the Centennial Celebration. On our part, we will have membership and scholarship forms, friendly FWC members, and our featured speaker, Lieutenant Emada E. Tingirides.

Meanwhile, FWC has been one of the important advocates and financial supporters and donors in the process of founding the UCLA's Faculty Center. The Center opened its doors on February 16, 1959. To revitalize its original place as an intellectual and social hub for the UCLA faculty, the Faculty Center is catering the Reception for "WEAVING GENERATIONS TOGETHER: Evolving creativity in the Maya of Chiapas." The opening reception is on October 5th 2017 in the UCLA Powell Library Main and East Rotundas.

I took a few photos prior to this afternoon reception. Take a look.

Professor of Developmental Psychology at UCLA Dr. Patricia Marks Greenfield
curated the exhibit "Weaving Generations Together"
Professor Greenfield, who is at the helm of the UCLA's Faculty Center, wanted to learn how weaving affects the way girls think, and how weaving could answer questions about the psychological effects of social and economic change -- moreover, what is the role of mothers teaching children cultural traditions, the transformation from community creativity to individual creativity.


Thursday, May 18, 2017

FWC Annual Spring Luncheon 2017

Just a step before our historic Centennial Celebratory year 2017-2018, we honored Pat Hardwick as the FWC Outstanding member at the Annual Spring Luncheon 2017. She has been with FWC for almost 60 years, and has actively participated in a variety of significant and enduring programs, projects, and activities. Details are published in our UPDATE by Jo Knopoff, who nominated Pat for this Award.

Pat Hardwick (with yellow rose and the FWC Outstanding Member Award 2017)
with Charlotte Brown and Jo Knopoff (from left) and Penny Hutchinson

Pat Hardwick (center) receiving her Outstanding FWC Member Award
Carol Betti (left) President and Zorana Ercegovac, Past Presidents Panel Co-chair


Penny Hutchinson about to blow out her birthday candle
and wish her wish with Jo Knopoff (center) and Yda Ziment,
our new member, at the FWC Annual Spring Luncheon 2017


Jeffrey Ho, cellist, playing J.S. Bach's Allemande and prelude in G major
Sarah Worden, violinist, performing Adagio and Fugue in g minor


Dr. Lorraine Flint, with the U.S. Geological Survey, speaking at the Spring Luncheon
about her research on climate change




Barbara Lippe, FWC President Elect, exhibiting her art pieces at the Annual Art Show 

Finally, past presidents are traditionally honored with a yellow rose


Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Prof. Andrea Ghez recognized as UCLA's FWC Woman of Distinction

Whether you meet Professor Andrea Ghez in the hallways of the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, at the UCLA’s Faculty Center with her postdocs, at the Royal Society of London receiving the Bakerian medal, or listening to her crisp and direct answers to “37 questions” as UCLA optimist, you will notice: she is fully engaged, direct, passionate about her work, and inspirational speaker. 
Prof. Andrea Ghez presents her research, April 18, 2017 as the recipient
of the UCLA's Faculty Women's Club WOMAN of DISTINCTION AWARD
In a cosmic regularity and predictability, Prof. Ghez, MIT (1987) and CalTech graduate (1992), is awarded with a series of prestigious awards; just a few examples include:
2004 elected to the National Academy of Science
2008 MacArthur Fellow “genius grant” for her work in surmounting the limitations of earthbound telescopes
2012 The Crafoord Prize for Astronomy (some equal it to the Nobel Prize)

2015 The Bakerian Medal from the Royal Society of London (est. 1665; 1775).

In order to "see" invisible exotic objects, Prof. Ghez uses her own techniques of adaptive optics for crisper images in order to observe otherwise unobservable monsters.
The three thrusts: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATION

To inspire young women to reach for the stars, Prof. Ghez co-authored a children's book. She brought many copies yesterday, and upon quick perusal of several pages, I learned: that inspiring teachers can be powerful in a child's curiosity and choices, that asking questions gets you started, that solving puzzles is exciting, that access to well written books matter, that parental support is an imperative, that finding a right discipline to study is rarely a linear process, and being at a right time and place may help.

Prof. Ghez co-authored a children's book"You can be a woman ASTRONOMER"
This little book asked the questions such as, are stars born alone or double, what is the life cycle of stars, do you like to explore, what stardust really is, and many others. If you want to learn more, take Prof. Ghez's INTRO to ASTRONOMY class at UCLA.
Andrea Ghez with Zorana Ercegovac

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

SCHOLARSHIP DINNER February 7, 2017

UCLA's Faculty Women's Club Annual Scholarship Dinner welcomes twelve extraordinary young scholars: two graduate students and ten undergraduates. It was a time to meet and greet old and new colleagues and friends, and to congratulate our awardees.

From left standing:
Michael Lin Chen, Yuna Kim, Haven Alicia Nisly, Yang yang, Fadi Aboud Syriani, Mercede Amber Ramjerdi, Brenda Rubio, Lily Hui, and Francesca Albrezzi
Front row: Joslyn Elena Garcia, Hannah Marie Hylen, and Chloe Pan

The students had a chance to network, interact with members of the Faculty Women's Club, and to tell their stories, aspirations, and to briefly describe their projects and career paths.

Our guest speaker Dr. Verna Porter was herself a recipient of the FWC Scholarship award as an undergraduate student at UCLA in the 80s. She is UCLA Health Sciences clinical professor of neurology and director of clinical programs at the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research at UCLA.

Dr. Verna Porter presenting at the FWC Scholarship Dinner February 7, 2017
Porter discussed advances in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and current approaches to treating neurogenerative diseases of the brain.

Three generations: Scholarship winner Verna Porter in 1987 with
her grandmother, FWC member, and her mother Prof. Donna Vredevoe, UCLA School of Nursing

Awardees for the first met with their peers, reconnected with scholarship committee members, and got introduced to other UCLA faculty and their spouses.

Merry Cerrito, Scholarship Committee and Barbara Lippe Board member and Scholarship Committee, with two recipients: Joslyn Elena Garcia and Haven Alicia Nisly
Zorana Ercegovac, Co-chair of the FWC Centennial Committee and Past President
Prof. Emeritus Ho who with his wife Shirley Ho (not in the photo) sponsored
the Shou-Nan Hsing Chang Scholarship, established in loving memory by her daughter Shirley Ho's Family
Prof. emerita Joy Frank chats with a recipient Michael Lin Chen
Recipient Joslyn, mechanical engineering third year student with
Jarka Wilcox, Scholarship Committee member
FWC keynote speaker for 2017 Scholarship Dinner Dr. Verna Porter (right) with
FWC President Carol Betti