MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Murfreesboro branch of the American Association of University Women will host the annual “Equali-TEA” scholarship fundraiser at a new location this year at Middle Tennessee State University.

Dress in your finest for this “hats optional” high tea that kicks off at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, in the second-floor ballroom in the Student Union Building, 1758 MTSU Blvd. on campus. Doors open at 4:45 p.m.

Amy Aldridge Sanford, vice provost for academic programs at MTSU, will give the keynote address, “From Rosie to Lilly: The Historically Underpaid and Our Recovery.”

“I’m excited to speak about women in the workplace both historically and today,” Sanford said. “The pay gaps are closing, but the work isn’t finished yet.”

MT Dining will cater the event with fare befitting the occasion — tea sandwiches, scones and other light desserts served with hot tea.

Although this year’s event is fully booked, donations can still be made at https://tinyurl.com/3a2mpts6. Sponsorships are also available at varying levels. All donations are tax-deductible.

Proceeds from the event will go toward scholarships and programming for the Middle Tennessee Fund for Women and Girls, a nonprofit organization in support of AAUW Murfreesboro. Founded in 1913, the AAUW Murfreesboro is a nonpartisan organization that works to level the playing field for women and girls to work and learn.

For more than 50 years, AAUW Murfreesboro has offered the Ruth Houston Memorial Scholarship to an undergraduate woman at MTSU. This year’s winner is supply chain management major Priscilla Hammermeister, who will attend the event.

In 2017, AAUW Murfreesboro launched the Butler-Fouts Memorial Graduate Scholarship for an underrepresented woman pursuing a graduate degree at MTSU. This year’s winner is Gbemisola Akinteye, who is earning a master’s in professional science.

Both scholarships provide $2,400 to each winner for the academic year.

The event will also spotlight Metro-Nashville Councilwoman Zulfat Suara as winner of the Tempest Award, given to an individual who has worked to bring equity for women and girls. Suara, the first Muslim woman elected in the state of Tennessee, has been a tenacious advocate for human rights and served in numerous roles to promote equity for all women in the workplace.

“She has done so much to improve the environment for women and girls in the Middle Tennessee area,” said Equali-TEA chair Bethany Wrye, associate professor of public health and president of the Middle Tennessee Fund for Women and Girls.

Wrye said Equali-TEA was established to call attention to wage disparities between men and women.  

To learn more about AAUW Murfreesboro, contact president Kristi Stringer, assistant professor of public health, at Kristi.Stringer@mtsu.edu.

To learn more about the scholarships offered by the Middle Tennessee Fund for Women and Girls and how to apply, visit https://mtfundforwomenandgirls.org/scholarships. Both scholarships are $1,200 per semester for the fall and spring. Applications will open by the end of April with a due date set for some time in June. Email Kathleen.Schmand@mtsu.edu for more details.

Sponsors for the event include Pinnacle Financial Partners, Friends of AAUW, Nichelle and John Bielinski, Phyllis Washington, John and Lee Anne Carmack, Valencia Phillips, Wilson Bank and Trust, Murfreesboro Branch of the NAACP and Lucy Bell.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)