American Association of University Women
Columbia Branch
The American Association of University Women, or AAUW, was founded in 1881 as a forum for educated women. It promotes equity for all women and girls, lifelong education, and positive societal change. The Columbia Branch of the American Association of University was founded in 1907 to promote the educational interests and aspirations of women in mid-Missouri.
Eva Johnston Scholarship
The Columbia Branch of the American Association of University Women awards a $500 annual scholarship in the name of Eva Johnston, a distinguished woman scholar from Missouri.
Eva Johnston attended Stephens College before enrolling in the University of Missouri in 1892. She received her A.B. degree in Latin in 1895. The faculty considered Eva the finest classical student to have graduated from the university in that decade. She delivered the graduation speech for her class. She held the chair of Latin at Columbia High School for several years before being appointed assistant professor of Latin at the University of Missouri. Professor Johnston was then awarded two leaves of absence to study in Europe. She earned a doctorate at the University of Koenigsburg in 1905, the first American woman to do so. She then returned to the University of Missouri, where she was named associate professor and was appointed advisor to women, a position she held for ten years. She became full professor of Latin in 1931, retiring in 1933. She was named professor emeritus of Latin in 1938. In 1951, the Eva Johnston Hall, then a freshman women residence hall on Rollins Street, was named in her honor.
In 1907, Professor Johnston helped establish the Columbia Branch of the American Association of University Women, which at that time was known as the Association of Collegiate Alumni. She became its first president. For many years, the Columbia Branch had given an annual scholarship to a University of Missouri student who was a Boone County resident. After Miss Johnston died in 1941, the scholarship was designated the Eva Johnston Scholarship. This scholarship is now awarded on a rotating basis to a student from Stephens College, Columbia College, and the University of Missouri-Columbia. Applicants must meet the following minimum criteria:
• Must be a graduate of a high school located
in Boone County, Missouri
• Must be a female student attending Stephens College, Columbia
College, or the University of Missouri—Columbia.
• Must be completing the sophomore year in college
• Must demonstrate financial need
