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AAUW awarded over $6 million in 2023-24, here and internationally
Our local branch is part of one of the world’s largest sources of funding for graduate women - AAUW.
Congrats 2023-24 Fellows & Grantees!
Congrats 2023-24 Fellows & Grantees!
AAUW is excited to announce over $6 million in funding to more than 285 women and community projects in the 2023-234 award year. These exceptional recipients will pursue academic work and lead innovative community projects to empower women and girls. All applicants are notified by email on April 15.
Due to the longstanding generous contributions of AAUW members and their branches, a broader community of women continues to gain access to educational and economic opportunities — breaking through barriers so that all women have a fair chance.
Fellowship and grant recipients perform research in a wide range of disciplines and work to improve their schools and communities. Their intellect, dedication, imagination, and effort promise to forge new paths in scholarship, improve the quality of life for all, and tackle the educational and social barriers facing women worldwide. AAUW seeks a diverse applicant pool.
The Batavia, Geneva St Charles Branch along with the leadership of Peggy Liska, our past president (2002-2005), has an endowment that has been in place since 2004. Our fundraising and her generous seeding of this endowment, contributes directly to women each year and in perpetuity.
Past recipients include Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor (2017)astronaut Mae Jemison (2007), anthropologist Margaret Mead (1978) and many more trailblazing women since the 1940's. LINK
LINK to application details
Follow this link to start your application for the coming year. The application process opens for most categories after August 1.
Follow this link to start your application for the coming year. The application process opens for most categories after August 1.
Name: Stacy Henderson
Award Year: 2022-23
Award: Career Development Grant
Institution: Western Governors University
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Discipline: Computer and information sciences
Degree and Specialization: B.S., Software Development
In 2020-21 our Branch contributed directly to this recipient - Stacy Henderson
Margaret "Peggy" Liska Naylor Fund - Batavia, Geneva St Charles IL Branch
Margaret "Peggy" Liska Naylor Fund - Batavia, Geneva St Charles IL Branch
Career Development Grants
Award Year: 2022-23
Stacy Henderson is an innovation technologist, a teacher and an aspiring software engineer living in Texas with her family and friends. She serves as an innovation consultant for a well-known mobility company driving global innovation via systems and events. Her grant-year goals include learning software development and earning CompTIA certifications. She values intellectual generosity in work, study and informal interactions. Learning new things, solving problems and making life better for people is what she does.
Follow this link to see all past recipients from our endowment. LINK
To learn more about AAUW’s fellowships and grants and past awardees, visit our fellowships and grants web page
American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowships
American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowships
Opens: September 16
Deadline: November 22
Claire West
Award Program Name American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowships
Directory Award Year 2024-25
Directory Institution University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (Urbana-IL)
Directory Primary Area of Expertise Chemistry
Claire West completed her Ph.D. at Univ. of Washington and first postdoc as a Royal Society Newton International Fellow at Univ. of Cambridge. She designed and characterized novel thermal materials by developing analytic and computational models, and performing single-particle and bulk photothermal measurements. Her current interests include mapping the photothermal response of light-absorbing nanoparticles/nanostructures (plasmonic or not) using refractive index perturbation-based microscopies.
Community Action Grants - One Year
Community Action Grants - One Year
Opens: September 16
Deadline: November 22
Girls 4 Science
Award Program Name Community Action Grants - One Year
Directory Award Year 2024-25
Directory Institution
Directory Primary Area of Expertise Education
Girls 4 Science's Saturday STEM Academy is the only free, year-round, single-sex STEM enrichment program for middle-school and high-school girls in the Chicago region. Serving more than 450 girls per year, the program provides scientific exploration in state-of-the-art labs with female instructors, field trips to discover real-world applications and professional mentorshipall tactics that have been proven to retain girls' interest in STEM and build confidence in their STEM abilities.
American Dissertation Fellowships
American Dissertation Fellowships
Opens: September 16
Deadline: November 22
Samantha Usman
Award Program Name American Dissertation Fellowships
Directory Award Year 2024-25
Directory Institution University of Chicago (Chicago-IL)
Directory Primary Area of Expertise Astronomy
Sam Usman is a final-year astronomy and astrophysics Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago. She uses spectroscopy to look at the chemical composition of stars and learn more about the unique enrichment patterns found only in dense star clusters. In addition to her research, she enjoys making pottery, training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and spending time with her wife and dog.
American Dissertation Fellowships
American Dissertation Fellowships
Opens: September 16
Deadline: November 22
Hope McCaffrey
Award Program Name American Dissertation Fellowships
Directory Award Year 2024-25
Directory Institution Northwestern University (Evanston-IL)
Directory Primary Area of Expertise History
Hope McCaffrey is a PhD candidate in history focusing on nineteenth-century US women’s and gender history. Her dissertation examines how and why white women who lived in the US antebellum free states sought political power by aligning with the Democratic party from 1840 to 1865. Her work helps to chronicle the history of women who aim to enhance the racial privileges afforded by the preservation of a white supremacist society while reinforcing their subordinate gender position.
Funding: $5,000–$7,000
Opens: September 16
Deadline: November 22
Primary Director: Olayide Obidi
Award Year: 2022-23
Award: International/Home Country Project Grant
Citizenship: Nigeria
Location: Lagos
Project Name: Demystifying STEM for Nigerian Females: A Chance for the Girl Child
Olayide Obidi, a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, is passionate about uprooting the phobia toward STEM among Nigerian female students. These girls have developed fear over the years having received the wrong impression that STEM is for the “strong” (boys). Therefore, many girls naturally avoid STEM-related careers. Her goal is to reorient these young Nigerian girls—through motivation and advocacy— about the possibility of girls thriving in STEM.
Funding: $10,000–$35,000
Opens: September 16
Deadline: November 22
Name: Rou-Jia Sung
Award Year: 2022-23
Award: Research Publication Grant in Engineering, Medicine, and Science
Institution: Carleton College
Location: Northfield, Minnesota
Discipline: Biology
Degree and Specialization: Publication, Biology
Project Name: Expression of ly6 proteins from C. elegans
Rou-Jia Sing is an assistant professor in the biology department at Carleton College. In the lab, she uses tools from biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology and cell biology to investigate the role of the ly6 protein family. The goals for this fellowship year are to develop and publish a robust expression protocol for expression of ly6 proteins from C. elegans, with future goals to use the purified protein to isolate novel interacting partners.
Funding: $5,000–$18,000
Opens: September 16
Deadline: November 22
Name: Kiana Washington
Award Year: 2022-23
Award: Selected Professions Fellowship
Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Discipline: Business administration and management
Degree and Specialization: M.B.A., Venture Capital
Project Name: Democratizing the financial services industry through innovation
Kiana Washington aspires to land a role in the fintech sector of the venture capital industry, in hopes of democratizing the financial-services industry for underrepresented communities. Before attending business school, she was responsible for the client acquisition, retention and strategic growth initiatives for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
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