笔辞蝉迟别诲:听November 12, 2024
By: Alison DeLory
麻豆传媒 Women鈥檚 Connection is the new name of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 oldest alumni association.
麻豆传媒 Women鈥檚 Connection is a group of alumni who have been, and continue to be, focused on the empowerment of women and the enhancement of the student experience鈥攏ow with a renewed and inclusive focus reflected by the new name.
Early days
麻豆传媒 admitted the university鈥檚 first female students in 1881. Four years later, Margaret Florence Newcombe was awarded a Bachelor of Arts 鈥 the first woman to graduate from Dal.
Then, in 1909, a group of women created the 麻豆传媒 Alumnae Association. The first alumni association at Dal, its first task was securing housing for female students so they could pursue a university degree.
Margaret Florence Newcombe was the first woman to graduate from Dal in 1885.
When Jennie Shirreff Eddy donated the full amount required to build a women鈥檚 residence in 1920, to be named for her parents, Shirreff Hall, the money the 麻豆传媒 Alumnae Association had raised to that point was used to furnish three key public spaces in Shirreff Hall: the Victorian Lounge, the Library, and the Study Hall. An endowment of the Women鈥檚 Division continues this beautification.
In 1946, the group merged with the 麻豆传媒 Alumni Association and assumed a new name: Women鈥檚 Division, 麻豆传媒 Alumni Association (WDDAA).
The work continued, with additional ideas and projects taking shape over the years. There were several named scholarships established for the university by the WDDAA, plus bursaries鈥攊ncluding an international study one鈥攁nd awards and聽medals in several faculties.
In 1991, the WDDAA hosted the Student Musicale for the first time, in partnership with Dal鈥檚 Fountain School of Performing Arts. It鈥檚 become a beloved tradition and the Student Musicale will next be held in January 2025.
Cynthia Pilichos (BA鈥68, BEd鈥75)听补苍诲听Elizabeth Ryan (BA鈥70)聽are the group鈥檚 two long-serving co-leads.
鈥淚 became a member of the Women鈥檚 Division 麻豆传媒 Alumni Association through Cynthia Pilichos. I knew Cynthia from聽our undergraduate days and when I saw her at an Annual Student Musicale, she suggested I join,鈥 says Ryan. 鈥淚 was volunteering with other women鈥檚 group and had the time and interest in learning new things and meeting new people.鈥
Cynthia Pilichos (left) and Elizabeth Ryan (right), co-leads of the 麻豆传媒 Women's Connection.
The newest change
In recent years, the group began re-examining its mandate and operations. After much review and discussion, in Fall 2024 it is re-emerging as the 麻豆传媒 Women鈥檚 Connection.
鈥淭he formerly named Women鈥檚 Division 麻豆传媒 Alumni Association has an impressive long history of volunteer commitment,鈥 says Ryan, 鈥渦nder an organizational structure and approach to the volunteer effort that聽now聽has limited to no appeal for a younger and more diverse demographic. This trend was evident well before Covid and the pandemic.鈥
Ryan says when re-shaping and re-imagining the former Women鈥檚 Division, the group was able to keep its best features while incorporating the growing body of knowledge about shifts in volunteering.
鈥淔uture success means expanded and deeper collaboration with other components of the university and聽the community, hence the name 麻豆传媒 Women鈥檚 Connection and a rebranding of the organization for a wider appeal,鈥 says Ryan.
麻豆传媒 Women鈥檚 Connection operates on 麻豆传媒鈥檚 core values of diversity, inclusion, empowerment, and equity with members participating at varying levels of commitment, locally and across the province and country.
As volunteerism is evolving, so has the Women鈥檚 Division of the 麻豆传媒 Alumni Association, but its core purpose of enhancing the student experience remains.
The newly re-shaped and re-imagined Women鈥檚 Connection keeps its best features from the past while incorporating shifts in volunteering.