HISTORY
Founded in 1927, the University Section Club, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit and a recognized support organization for the University of California, Berkeley, serves the UC Berkeley community in various ways. We offer eighteen sections from languages to tennis, and birding to pickleball, that provide an enjoyable way for members to come together around shared interests. Volunteer activities welcome and support students, international scholars and their families. Fundraising activities, dues and donations support philanthropy to students which include emergency grants, financial support for student groups and programs, and two endowed scholarships.
The University Section Club, Inc was a daughter-organization of the College Teas which was founded in 1907 to foster friendships among the faculty of the University of California. In 1927, a fire destroyed Hearst Hall where the Teas had been meeting. With their small insurance money, they established a Loan Fund for needy students and raising money for this Fund became their primary responsibility. By 1927, informal meetings of faculty wives were formed into The Section Club. Ten interest groups - sections were started: Badminton, Walking, Homemaking, Foreign Languages, Bridge, Drama, Music and Philanthropy (later Services Offered Students, S.O.S.).
For over 50 years, the Teas and Section Club co-existed, but as Section Club grew the Teas dwindled. In 1984, the Teas and Section Club became an official support group of the University by offering grants and support to deserving students and student-related groups.
Intercampus Day 2020
Women Breaking Barriers Video
Celebrating 150 Years of Women Being
Accepted to U.C. Berkeley
Background
The year 2020 marked the 150th anniversary of the admission of women students to the University of California. With this momentous anniversary as its theme for the Intercampus Day, the University Section Club planned its program to feature women students, alumnae, faculty and staff. The program was to include a panel discussion of women from different eras at Cal, a faculty speaker and a coach of a Cal women’s sports team.
Originally scheduled to be held on the Berkeley campus on April 1, 2020, with invited guests from similar clubs fromUC Davis, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz, the program was cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
In the fall of 2021, the members of the Intercampus Day Committee, including Andrea Campos ‘75, as chair, Betsy Dixon, Betsy Hansen, Janet Martinelli, Audrey Richards, Sherry Rufini ’77, and Elly Skarakis, regrouped to decide what to do about the program. While vaccines had slowed the spread of the disease, Covid 19 was still circulating in the community and it was decided that rather than have a traditional, in-person program, we would attempt to have the program LIVE as a video conference meeting.
Video Development
The committee spent countless hours researching the key moments for women students and faculty over the course of the 150-year time frame, with a focus on Berkeley, as its flagship campus. The campus’ website, 150w.berkeley.edu, dedicated to the admission of women, was an important resource for this project.
Using known campus and alumnae contacts, the Committee reached out to several individuals to engage them in the project. The goal was to interview women students who experienced each era firsthand.
The interviews were recorded by Sherry Rufini using her iPhone and edited on iMovie. She worked diligently to edit and balance the interviews, coordinating the background music, and inserting photos where appropriate. Journalist Linda Schacht, ’66, edited the overall script and recorded the narrative. Each step of the way, Committee members gave feedback to tweak the video.
Janet Martinelli developed the “Breaking Barriers” logo which is used at the beginning.
Intercampus Day Event
The result of all these efforts was the presentation of the video on March 30, 2022. The Zoom meeting was hosted by University Development and Alumni Relations and over 100 individuals participated in the program. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions of Laurie Wu McClain, one of the subjects in the video, who was live at the endof the program.
The total time of the video is 60 minutes.
For further information, please contact the University Section Club: cor.secretary@sectionclub.org
If you would like to provide feedback about the video, please contact Sherry Rufini at sherry.rufini@gmail.com.