University Section Club

The University Section Club, Inc. is an organization whose members are affiliated with the Berkeley Campus of the University of California.

To raise funds to aid deserving students, support student-related groups, and foster scholarship and international understanding.

To provide a social milieu for members to interact while sharing common interests in the various activity sections of the Club.

Funds are generated by means of annual dues, by donations from members and other interested individuals, and by a fundraising event each spring, the Beehive Luncheon.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all new and returning members of the University Section Club. This will be our eighty-third year and we intend to pursue our goals with the same spirit and energy that has propelled us forward until now. We serve the university community in multiple capacities. As a nonprofit U. C. Berkeley support group, our efforts are dedicated to helping students with emergency grants funded through our Student Grants Committee and our Sylvia Elberg Memorial Fund. Additionally, our Services Offered Students program helps to finance projects or equipment needs requested by University Village, Tang Center, the Disabled Students Program, and other student support groups. Our generosity is enabled through a major fundraiser, the Beehive Luncheon and Silent Auction, and by way of donations to our club.

We invite visiting scholars, international students, their spouses and children to partake in weekly informal get-togethers at the Centre. Often there is an exciting program to participate in and enjoy, such as a Thanksgiving meal, or a Chinese New Year celebration. For our members we offer an array of stimulating “Sections”. If you would like to brush up on your French, discuss books, eat a gourmet dinner, write a memoir, play tennis, and more then check out Activity Sections to learn about all seventeen of our Sections. They provide wonderful opportunities to create new friendships and strengthen old ones.

FALL GARDEN RECEPTION/SECTION REGISTRATION
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
University House
11:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Mrs. Birgeneau will graciously host this Garden Reception where we hope you will

meet old friends, make new ones, and get acquainted with our different Sections and activities.

Professor Ananya Roy teaches a course on Global Policy and inequality to over 740 students. No wonder CAL is at the forefront of education. She will be the first woman to speak at the Section Club’s Winter Dinner. Her remarkable achievements in India that led her to a BA at Mills College and a PhD in Comparative Urban Developments make her a woman of far ranging knowledge and ideas. As well as her teaching in the Department of City and Regional Planning, she is the Education Director of the Blum Center for Developing Economics and presides over the Association of Academic Women of some 200 to 300 members.

With flashing dark eyes, a ready smile and clarity of thought and speech, it is no wonder she won a Distinguished Teaching Award in 2006 and then two years later the students awarded her the Golden Apple Teaching Award.

This will be a fascinating evening on Jan. 29th at I-House for you and your guests.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
1 Lawson Rd., Kensington, 94707-1015

The Beehive is one of our very important fundraiser events done yearly. We are proud to offer a wide variety of charming items for auction, including children’s toys, paintings, jewelry, dinners at fine restaurants, and vacation trips. Donations are accepted throughout the year and can be dropped of at the home of Sigvor Thornton, email usectionclub@berkeley.edu for directions.. Extra donations are sold at the Children’s Hospital Thrift Shop, which shares the proceeds with the Section Club. Traditionally the delicious luncheon includes poached salmon, a variety of salads and home-baked cookies. This is an event you don’t want to miss! Flyer available.

ANNUAL SPRING MEETING FOR ALL MEMBERS

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

9:00 AM to Noon

The UNIVERSITY SECTION CLUB at U.C. Berkeley had its origin in 1907 when the College Teas were instituted by Mrs. Benjamin Ide Wheeler, wife of the President of the University. They were held successively in the Men's Faculty Club, the first Hearst Gymnasium for Women, The Women's Faculty Club, and, briefly at The Town and Gown Club. Their purpose was to provide an opportunity for women from all departments and neighboring campuses to meet. That purpose has since been extended to include furthering the educational activities of U.C. Berkeley by offering grants and support to students and student-related groups of the University, providing assistance to foreign students, scholars and their families, and by promoting student and international understanding among University-related persons and groups.

The Section Club, as such, was founded in 1927 and now includes 16 sections: Adventure, Art Museum, Birding, Bon Appetit, Book Discussion, Drama, French, German, Italian, Music, Photography, Sew and So, Spanish, Tennis, Walking, and Writers' Workshop. A new section may be formed with 5 members.

Section Club membership consists of four categories: regular, associate, honorary, and Ex-Officio.
A newsletter, The Breeze, is published three times a year to inform Section Club members about the activities of the club.

In the "Social Side of the Section Club's History," member Mary Lee Noonan points out that in 1972 there were over 3,200 women on the mailing list, and the membership approached 800. But were they only drinking tea and socializing?

"We also emphasize our service to the campus community and the financial support which we give to individual students and programs. But to deny the social dimension of the Section Club is to misunderstand our role as a force for community within the vast, often impersonal reaches of the Berkeley campus. Over the years the Section Club has constantly experimented with different ways of bringing people together that supplement the social life of the individual sections. Hospitality, generosity, friendship, kindness - these are values that we must continue to express, individually and collectively, as we map the future of the University Section Club. Often the best way to get to know someone is to work with her on some shared activity."

Brief History

The University Section Club, a non-profit UC Berkeley support group, was founded in 1927. Its goals have been twofold: first, to bring together members from both the faculty and administration in a variety of interest groups or "sections", and secondly, to offer practical and financial help to students on campus. On both levels, the Section Club generates what could be described as social cement, welcoming people from different departments who might otherwise never have the opportunity to become friends, and at the same time demonstrating to students that they are part of a larger caring Cal family. There are now about twenty sections, which range from foreign language groups, a writers' workshop, walking and bird watching, gourmet dinners, tennis to a very active music group and three large student service committees: SOS (Services Offered Students), Student Grants and the International Student & Scholar Committee.

Over the past 77 years, as the University has grown, the Section Club has adapted as the needs of students have changed. The three student service committees coordinate with campus institutions such as the Disabled Students' Program, Albany Village, The Tang Center, Student Life Advising and The Center for Transfer, Re-entry and Student Parents as well as International House. Members raise funds that can be dispersed through staff at these institutions as emergency grants to students facing sudden needs that "fall between the cracks" of conventional financial aid. Pilot projects have been funded for various student support programs such as a safe apartment for students in an abusive relationship, a mentoring program for disabled students anda hotline at the Tang Center for students over the Winter holidays. Many of these activities, having demonstrated their value, are then continued and expanded with University funding.

For many years, the International Student & Scholar Committee has worked closely with International House to provide services for international students and scholars. Members run The Centre, a weekly program at the University YWCA, to bring the spouses and children of international visitors together on Thursday mornings, and a biweekly Equipment Loan program on Wednesday afternoons. Section Club members have funded a yearly scholarship for a student resident at International House. In 2004-2005, the Club raised funds for a student's room and board which was matched by the UC Graduate Division with a tuition grant to provide a full year's scholarship at the University. The generous, energetic spirit of the Section Club continues in the 21st century and the Club welcomes the widest possible university community participation and support. Anyone interested in helping our services or wishing to be involved can email us at usectionclub@berkeley.edu for more information.

New to the Section Club? A special sign-in table will be set up at the Fall Garden Reception to welcome you. For the answers to your questions about the Section Club or life in our community please contact us at usectionclub@berkeley.edu. Put New Member in the subject line and include a phone number if you would like us to phone you.

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