National Association of University Dames
Dates
- Existence: 1896 - circa 1976
Historical Information
The tradition of University Dames Clubs began with the development of the first such group at Harvard in 1896. As Harvard Dames moved on to other parts of the country they would start new chapters at the next university with which they were affiliated. These clubs were devoted to creating a sense of community between the wives as well as a source of social and intellectual development and philanthropic endeavors. The National Association of University Dames was founded in 1921 to address the growing need to better facilitate transfer of members among chapters and foster a sense of cooperation and communication between them. Due to the fact that individual chapters were quite small and with extremely limited resources, the possibility of annual conventions was unlikely; thus, the founding committee of the national association decided that the responsibilities of the national chapter would be carried out on a rotating basis by the officers of local chapters.