April 29, 2010 --The Santa Monica Bay Chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) recently made a $100,000 donation to Santa Monica College (SMC) for a new scholarship that will be earmarked primarily for female students pursuing careers in nursing and education.

This is the largest one-time contribution from Santa Monica’s AAUW chapter and it is the last one. A Santa Monica AAUW official said due to the deaths of three founding members and a lack of recruits, the chapter has been dissolved.

SMC adjunct kinesiology professor Jo Kidd, who is

the current chapter president, and treasurer Beryl Markiles handed the check to SMC President Chui L. Tsang in his office on April 21 while JoAnn Ortiz, executive director of the SMC Foundation, looked on.

“We're thrilled with this donation,” SMC Foundation Associate Director Charles Potts said in a press statement. “We have been receiving monies from AAUW since 1992.

This is a great way to be able to provide for students in perpetuity, and still remember those women who came together to start this chapter of the organization.”