Legal Advocacy Fund Report

September 20, 2003 Board Meeting

As the branches start to become more active as the school year starts I hope that the activity for LAF also becomes more evident. The first meeting of the Wilmington Branch was Saturday September 13 and they have a new project that I shall call a book exchange. At each monthly meeting members are asked to bring a book that they no longer want or need. It is placed on a special table and if another member would like to take it for their own personal reading or for a book club, they are asked to contribute $2 to the LAF. This is just one creative way to raise some money for LAF. What is your branch doing?

As the state LAF Liaison it is a goal of mine that each branch contribute to LAF. I would also be helpful if each branch have a LAF representative. I will be contacting all the branches in the next month to see what is happening in the LAF field in each branch. Although we would like a lot of money, we really want each branch to contribute and make all their members aware of the important work that LAF does. Remember, although we might think that this is the start of a working year; we are really in the third quarter of the LAF fundraising year. LAF uses a calendar year as its fiscal year. Money for this year is due to me by early December so I can send it in to the office in Washington, DC. So, if your branch does not have something planned for this year it is time to think about this and act.

The other project that I am currently working on is writing a travel grant for the spring convention. We received one last year and are hoping to do the same again this year. We would again like to do a fundraiser at the convention as we did last year. A good portion of the state’s total LAF money was raised at the breakfast. It was around $3,000.

The LAF has adopted a new case. It is Kari Lavalli v Texas State University- San Marcos. To paraphrase the LAF E-Newsletter; Lavalli was on the tenure track at the university’s biology department, receiving a very good review each year. She was in charge of the marine biology department and during her career she became more vocal about interviewing of exclusively males in directorship positions and exclusively females in lower positions. Her contract was terminated in spite of her performance and good reviews. This is a case that we might want to watch.

It would be helpful if branch presidents would let me know who their LAF chair is so I can help and work with them directly. I am looking forward to working will all of you. Please ask any of your questions, if I don’t know the answer I will try to find it for you. Thank-you.

Submitted by, Lill Van Order, AAUW NC LAF Liaison