The University of Pennsylvania Women's Club originated in 1906 when Mary Spring Gardiner Frazier organized an informal gathering for several faculty wives to meet every two weeks for tea. It was officially founded, however, in 1910 under the name of the Faculty Tea Club of the University of Pennsylvania. Its membership was open to the wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters of all members of the faculty, University administration, and board of trustees. Over the course of its existence, the Women's Club expanded its mission from inspiring fellowship among the faculty wives to aiding new faculty members, offering services for women, funding female students' educations, and performing community service. In the 1920s, a scholarship and loan fund was established to assist women students at the University. After the death of the first president of the University in 1948, the name of the fund was changed to the Thomas S. Gates Scholarship Fund. The fund continues to the present.
In 1942 the University Tea Committee merged with the Women's Club. The University Tea Committee was found around 1915 with membership open to family members of the trustees and faculty. It remained active until 1932 and after ten-year hiatus the turned over its treasury to the Women's Club.
From the description of Records, 1910-2000. (University of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 122631006
