AAUW was formed in 1881 when a small group of like-minded women in Boston discovered they had no outlets for their education and few ways to serve their communities. Headed by Marie Talbot and Ellen Swallow Richards, they decided to unite alumnae of different colleges to accomplish practical educational work. The group was originally formed as the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. The fledgling organization welcomed the Western Association of Collegiate Alumnae in 1889 and the Southern Association of Collegiate Women in 1921. The combined organizations took the name The American Association of University Women. Over the years, branches were founded in every state in the union. Today, AAUW has more than 170,000 members and supporters in 1000 local branches and 800 college and university partners.
AAUW California was organized in 1921. It is the state’s most active and diverse organization for women with nearly 12,000 members in 125 branches, plus over 5,000 members-at-large.
The Oakdale branch was chartered in April 1962, celebrating our 60th anniversary in 2022. In 1989, we added Riverbank to our name for members who resided there. Escalon established a branch in 1965 after being a satellite of the Stockton branch. In 1995, the Escalon branch disbanded and remaining members joined Oakdale. The branch changed its official title in 2006 to reflect this inclusion. Together we form one strong, dynamic branch serving the entire joint community. Currently, ORE is 36 members strong.