In 1959, Marian Miller, the wife of then President Tom Miller, envisioned a women's group which would receive support at the college. Mrs. Miller felt the need for the wives, mainly young women with small children, to have a social outlet with others of like interests. Therefore, with the appointment of Dorothy Ickes as their first president, an informal group called Faculty Wives came into being. In those early years, only the wives of faculty and support personnel of Edinboro State College were eligible for membership. However, as the college grew, so did the need to accommodate more women. Thus, in the early 1980s, the membership voted to become the Edinboro University Women's Association (EUWA), with membership open to any woman who was employed or whose husband was employed at the university. With this change, the organization was somewhat altered. New purposes were found which included: "[enhancing] the quality of life; [fostering] friendship and sociability among the women who [constituted] its membership; and, when appropriate, [furthering] the aims of the university." The association committed to these purposes, especially through financial contributions to aid students. In 1983, a scholarship fund was created to be awarded annually to a full-time student who had returned to education after an absence of at least five years, had just completed the junior year and had an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better. The first scholarship from this fund was awarded in 1987. Further, the Marian Miller Award was established in the 1990s to aid in the tuition payment of a needy student (or of needy students) at the Miller Research Learning Center. These awards were funded mainly through the holiday house tours planned by the resource committee of the EUWA but also sponsored were a dinner, an art auction, a pig roast, and a fashion show. Members of the association were, moreover, involved in orientation, honors convocation, iced tea summer events, and other special projects that warranted their participation. When not volunteering, members were also able to engage in special interest groups such as lunch brunch, Christian fellowship, bridge, book club, swimming, etc. These activities continued to be enjoyed until 2010. After a 50-year celebration and remembrance, the last meeting of the association was held on October 2nd of that year.
From the description of Edinboro University Women's Association, 1971-2010, bulk 1977-2010. (Edinboro University of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 768345833
