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1948
Brandeis University National Women’s Committee (BUNWC) is Founded by Eight Visionary Women
By the time Brandeis opened its first library in a converted
horse stable, an inspired group of eight women had already organized a small
army of volunteers to raise funds for its operation. Membership in BUNWC, now
one of the largest "friends-of-a-library" groups in the world,
swelled overnight with women from coast to coast anxious to make this
Jewish-sponsored nonsectarian university a success and its library first rate.
1956
Faculty Create Study Groups
Brandeis faculty linked BUNWC members nationwide to Brandeis
by
creating study group materials for use in chapters
throughout the country. Thousands of members continue to meet in small groups
in homes, public libraries, and community centers to study everything from
Shakespeare to American Jewish humor, using almost 100 syllabi and discussion
guides written by the faculty.
1958
BUNWC’s Used Book Sales Benefit Libraries
“New Books for Old” is the hallmark project of the Boston
and North Shore, Illinois chapters; their initial used book sales benefit the
Brandeis libraries. Many chapters have
since launched annual book sales in their communities.
1968
BUNWC’s Awards First Sachar Medallion
BUNWC established the Abram L. Sachar Silver Medallion Award
to honor Brandeis's founding president and to recognize women who made
outstanding contributions to public education and awareness. Awarded annually,
recipients have included actress Helen Hayes, opera director Sarah Caldwell,
historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin, scientist and antinuclear activist
Helen Caldicott, Jehan (Mrs. Anwar) Sadat, Nobel Prize winner Rosalyn Yalow,
journalists Nina Totenberg and Anna Quindlen, a cancer specialist Susan Love,
M.D., and Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Gerda Weismann Klein.
1973
Faculty Goes on the Road for BUNWC
Brandeis faculty members "hit the road" for the
first time to lecture in BUNWC chapters, giving Brandeis greater visibility in
communities all across the country and providing a vital link to the University
for supporters thousands of miles from campus. More than 100 faculty members
have participated in what is now called "University Outreach,"
attracting 5,000 people per year to stimulating lectures on culture, history,
politics, world events, and the arts.
1977
BUNWC Funds Student Salaries for Library Work
BUNWC combined financial support for the libraries and for
students working there through its new Library Work Scholar program.
Approximately 150 students work in the libraries each year as part of their
financial aid packages. Library Work Scholar has become one of BUNWC’s most
popular programs, raising as much as $250,000 per year.
1982
BUNWC Grant Launches Automation of Libraries
A $250,000 grant from BUNWC helped fund the automation of
the card catalogue in the libraries. This marked the start of a multi-million
dollar technology program, much of it funded through the BUNWC’s Library
Technology Fund. BUNWC donations
eventually upgraded the libraries' wiring infrastructure and computer network
to create 900 state-of-the-art access points to the Internet for students,
faculty and library staff.
1996
BUNWC Brings Library
Holdings to 1 Million Volumes
A major fund raising campaign BUNWC brought to one million
the number of books in the libraries' collections, making the Brandeis
libraries the fastest growing of almost any other private university library in
the country. BUNWC presented the millionth book to the libraries, a rare first
edition set of The Law of God by Isaac Leeser, the first English Bible
published for the American Jewish community, along with more than $500,000
raised to establish an endowment for the American Judaica collection.
Written and posted by the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections staff.
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