University Club for women celebrating 100 years

IOWA CITY - This is a story about a bridge club. Or maybe it's a book club. Or a golf club, a cooking club, a bowling club, a knitting club, a poker club.

It's a club for 'women with hammers.” It's a club for women with red shoes.

'We're not in Kansas. We're not in Rome. But you know, there's no place like home,” according to the group's message for those donning scarlet heels.

And that, according to the century-old Iowa City-based women's group, sums up their mission - creating a sense of home, of community, even for those far from it.

'We moved from Colorado, so a long ways away,” said member Linda Spangle. 'So I'm trying to find friends and figure it out, and somehow I learned about the University Club ... and I felt like I had found my tribe.”

For 100 years, the group of women has been meeting via luncheons, coffees, social events, and interest groups to socialize, play, eat, serve and learn.

The University Club, which began using that name long before UI in 2008 adopted the moniker for the former University Athletic Club, exists to promote 'interaction of women of all ages and affiliations who are interested in the University of Iowa and the surrounding Iowa City community.”

‘Come on Down'

But, Spangle said, that hardly covers it.

'We are an inviting organization - a come on down kind of thing,” she said. 'This is not something rigid or closed or where there are demands. It's a place where you walk in the door and you belong and you will be welcomed and encouraged to meet people and get involved.”

The group has changed a bit since three members of the UI Graduate College in September 1917 filed articles of incorporation for the club - pitched at the time for women on the UI faculty or administrative staff, wives of faculty members, graduate students and UI alumni.

At its inception, the club collected $10 in annual dues from each of its 56 charter members.

Today, nearly 700 members pay annual dues of $20 to participate in the club, which has dropped its requirement for UI affiliation and now accepts women of all ages who simply have an interest in the university or the Iowa City community.

Community Link

The founders believed the club would become one of the most important organizations within the UI radius, and members over time have documented its impact through significant events both locally, nationally and internationally.

During World War I, the group devoted meetings to knitting for service members or sewing for the Red Cross. During World War II, members volunteered at local hospitals. Enter the 1950s, when club members entertained foreign students and continued expanding their offerings.

Interest groups took off and a newcomers' branch developed, and by 1967 membership reached 500. Around that time, group leaders began discussing knocking down the UI-affiliation barrier, and in 1978 any woman could join - allowing the group to function as a built-in social network for new arrivals who have no connection with the university or community.

'I have loved it, and I've heard that story from so many people who would say almost exactly the same thing,” Spangle said. 'Moved here, didn't know a soul, kids are out of town ... and the University Club just saved us because it's how we became a part of the community.”

Scholarships

The group, because its assets are relatively small, isn't required to file full 990 tax forms with the federal government. But the most recent documents posted online, from 2009, show it brought in more than $32,000 - primarily in dues and luncheon reservations.

Expenses include printing and publishing its newsletter and organizing programs and meetings. Any excess goes into a scholarship fund managed by the UI Foundation.

Since establishing the fund in 1999, at least 31 students have received scholarships, awarded based on need and merit to female undergraduate students in their junior year, according to UI Foundation spokeswoman Dana Larson.

This year, in celebrating its 100th anniversary, the group aims to raise $10,000 for the scholarship. It also expects to continue attracting new members - even as its meeting place, the UI-owned and operated University Club looks to close.

The group has been in discussions with a local hotel to host its gatherings when the club shutters in September 2018 - leaving organizers hopeful the closure won't slow participation. Last year, nearly 100 new members joined, according to member Louise Crock.

'We want to get them before they're too busy,” she said.

'Or before they're too bored,” Spangle chimed in.

'Before they just settle in and do nothing,” Crock said. 'They can stay active and do things that they've always wanted to do.”

l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com