| compiled
and edited by Mark Frazier Lloyd July 2001 text-only
version available in one file (302 kb) More
on Women at Penn
 |
1951-1968 Men's
and women's activities at Penn begin to merge, while a few women faculty members
gain tenure and advancement |
| | 1951 |
In the Fall semester, seventy-five years after Anna Flanigen and Gertrude Pierce
enrolled in Chemistry classes, a total of 4,234 women were enrolled in 24 different
academic programs. The majority of women students (2,273 or 53.68%) continued
to attend classes on a part time basis, but the number enrolled in courses leading
to degrees had increased substantially (2,441 or 57.65%). The College for Women,
offering its undergraduate liberal arts degree, had clearly met a real need at
Penn. With 695 full time students, the College enjoyed an enrollment of women
more than twice that of any other undergraduate school. 326 women were enrolled
in the undergraduate programs of the School of Education; 174 in those of the
School of Nursing; 83 in the School of Allied Medical Professions; 50 in the School
of Fine Arts; and 19 in the College Collateral Courses. Among the graduate and
professional schools, 99 full time women students were enrolled in the School
of Social Work, more than twice the number enrolled in any other professional
degree program. 43 women were enrolled in the graduate, professional-degree programs
of the School of Education; 21 in the School of Medicine; 16 in the Graduate School
of Medicine; 15 in the Law School; 12 in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences;
and six in the Wharton School. 868 women students were enrolled in part
time courses leading to degrees: 253 were working toward masters and doctoral
degrees in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; 230 in the School of Education;
74 in the School of Social Work; nine in the Wharton School, and four in the School
of Fine Arts. 179 women were enrolled in part time classes leading to an undergraduate
degree in the School of Nursing; 41 in the College Collateral Courses; 34 in the
School of Education; 29 in the School of Allied Medical Professions; and 12 in
the School of Fine Arts. 1,793 women students were enrolled in courses
that did not lead to a degree: 388 full time students in the HUP School of Nursing;
797 part time students in the College Collateral Courses; 346 students in the
Extension schools of Nursing, Wharton, and Education; 187 in the Wharton Evening
School; and 75 in the Oral Hygiene program of the School of Dental Medicine.
Women had also made major advances in the ranks of the faculty. Women had won
appointments to the standing faculty in thirteen of the fifteen schools of the
University. Only the faculties of Law and Engineering had failed to appoint or
promote a woman to the rank of Assistant Professor or higher. Women held tenured
faculty positions in nine of the fifteen - the School of Medicine, the Wharton
School, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education, the
School of Fine Arts, the College of Liberal Arts for Women, and the schools of
Social Work, Allied Medical Professions, and Nursing - and women held full or
senior professorships in seven of those nine (Dr. Florence B. Seibert would not
become Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Medicine until 1955 and no woman
would hold a senior professorship in the School of Fine Arts until 1958).
At the Commencement held on 10 February, the University awarded the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education to twenty-eight graduates of the School
of Nursing. These were the first women to earn the B.S.in N.Ed. degree at Penn.
At the Commencement held on 13 June, the University awarded the degree of Doctor
of Social Work to Anita J. Faatz, Goldie Basch Faith, Elizabeth Alston Lawder,
and Rosa Wessel. They were the first women to earn the D.S.W. degree at Penn. |
| | 1952 |
At the Commencement held on 18 June, the University awarded the School of Allied
Medical Profession's degree of Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy to
Josephine Cohen, Marie Antoinette Robbins, and Thelma M. Thoms. They were the
first women to earn the B.S. in O.T. degree at Penn. 203 years after Benjamin
Franklin organized the first Trustees and twenty-five years after the Trustees
were divided into three classes - Life, Term, and Alumni Trustees - Katharine
Elizabeth McBride was elected one of the Term Trustees of the University. Dr.
McBride had succeeded Marion Edward Park as President of Bryn Mawr College in
1942; had been awarded Penn's honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) that same
year; and had also been elected an Associate Trustee of the University, serving
as a member of the Trustees' Board of Graduate Education and Research. She was
the first woman elected a Trustee of the University. In June she was elected a
Term Trustee, to serve for ten years. Less than a year later, in May 1953 she
was elected by her fellow Trustees to the Executive Committee of the Trustees.
She was the first woman to serve the University as a member of the Executive Committee
of the Trustees. In 1962, when her ten-year term expired, Dr. McBride was re-elected
a Term Trustee. She served as a Term Trustee another four years, until her resignation
in 1966. | | | 1953 | The
College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts for Women merged
their yearbooks into a single volume and the title page of The 101st Record
boldly announced that it was "published by the coeducational undergraduates
of the University of Pennsylvania." At the Commencement held on 10 June,
the University awarded the School of Allied Medical Profession's degree of Bachelor
of Science in Physical Therapy to Martha Bodine. She was the first woman to earn
the B.S. in P.T. degree at Penn. | | | 1954 | In
February, the University announced that in the fall semester, for the first time,
women would be admitted to the undergraduate programs of the School of Engineering
and Applied Science and the Wharton School. These programs had been the last at
Penn to exclude women. In September, fifteen undergraduate women enrolled in the
Wharton School, nine of whom earned the degree of Bachelor of Science in Economics
(B.S. in Econ.) by June 1958. Barbara G. Mandell was the first woman to enroll
in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. In March, the University
appointed Dwight B. McNair Scott, M.D., to the faculty position of Assistant Professor
of Physiological Chemistry in Medicine, in the School of Medicine, effective retroactively
to 1 January 1954. In July 1956, Dr. Scott, a woman, was reappointed and her title
changed to Assistant Professor of Biochemistry in Physiology. Also in March,
the University appointed Catherine C.L. Bacon, M.D., to the faculty position of
Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Graduate School of Medicine, effective
retroactively to 25 January 1954. In July 1955 the University promoted her within
the School of Medicine (not the Graduate School of Medicine) to the faculty position
of Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry. The Wharton School appointed
Jean Andrus Crockett, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., to the faculty position of Assistant
Professor of Finance. She was the first woman to join the standing faculty of
the Wharton School in one of its departments of business education. In 1959 the
Wharton School promoted her to Associate Professor of Finance and in 1965 to full
Professor of Finance. She was the first woman to earn tenure and the first woman
to hold a senior professorship in one of the departments of business education
at the Wharton School. In October, the Trustees elected the first woman
Trustee, Katharine Elizabeth McBride, the first Chair of the Advisory Board of
Teacher Education and Practice. She was both the first woman member of the Board
and the first woman Chair. At the same October meeting, the Trustees elected Helen
Cheyney Bailey (B.S. in Ed., 1919) an Associate Trustee of the University with
membership on the Advisory Board of Teacher Education and Practice. She was the
only woman among the Associate Trustees elected to the first Advisory Board of
Teacher Education and Practice. In December, the Trustees elected Lucile
Petry Leone an Associate Trustee of the University with membership on the Advisory
Board of Medical Education and Research. She was the first woman with oversight
responsibilities for the schools of Dental Medicine, Medicine, and Veterinary
Medicine. | | | 1955 | In
March, the University appointed Rachel Ash, M.D., to the faculty position of Associate
Professor of Cardiology in Pediatrics in the Graduate School of Medicine.
In May, the University appointed Neva Abelson, M.D., to the faculty position of
Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine. At the Commencement
held on 15 June, the University awarded the School of Fine Arts' degree of Master
of City Planning to Janet Ruth Scheff. She was the first woman to earn the M.C.P.
degree at Penn. In October, the Trustees elected Mary Todhunter (Clark)
Rockefeller ("Mrs. Nelson A. Rockefeller") an Associate Trustee with
membership on the Advisory Board of Medical Education and Research. |
| | 1956 | At
the Commencement held on 11 February, the University awarded the School of Allied
Medical Professions' degree of Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology to Nancy
Newlin. She was the first woman and the first person to earn the B.S. in M.T.
degree at Penn. At the Commencement held on 13 June, the University awarded
the Wharton School's undergraduate business degree, the Bachelor of Science in
Economics, to Carole M. Berman. She was the first woman to earn the B.S. in Econ.
degree at Penn. Also at the Commencement of June 1956, the University awarded
the degree of Master of Laws to Paula Rudy Markowitz. She was the first woman
to earn the LL.M. degree at Penn. In October, the University promoted Elizabeth
Farquhar Flower from the faculty position of Assistant Professor of Philosophy
in the College of Arts and Sciences to that of Associate Professor, effective
retroactively as of 1 July 1956. She was the first woman to earn tenure in the
College of Arts and Sciences. | | | 1957 | At
the Commencement held on 12 June, the University awarded the School of Allied
Medical Professions' degree of Bachelor of Science in Oral Hygiene to Marilyn
Smith Hipple. She was the first woman and the first person to earn the B.S. in
O.H. degree at Penn. Academic year 1957-58 was the final year in which the
University published an independent Bulletin for the College of Liberal Arts for
Women containing "detailed information concerning the admission requirements
and courses" in that the College. The list of Officers of Instruction in
the College for Women included only eight women in the 170-member, standing faculty:
Dorothy Swaine Thomas, Professor of Sociology in the Wharton School; Hildegarde
J. Farquhar, Associate Professor of Physical Education; Elizabeth Farquhar Flower,
Associate Professor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences; Joyce Michell,
Associate Professor of Music; Eleanor S. Boll, Assistant Professor of Sociology;
Elizabeth R. Burdick, Assistant Professor of Physical Education; Mildred L. Sylvester,
Assistant Professor of Psychology; and Malvena Taiz, Assistant Professor of Physical
Education. Only two of the eight - Associate Professor Flower and Assistant Professor
Sylvester - held their primary appointments in the College of Arts and Sciences
[for Men]. In addition, there were four women not members of the standing faculty,
including the two senior academic administrators: R. Jean Brownlee, Vice-Dean
and Associate in Political Science; Virginia Kinsman Henderson, Lecturer in Marriage
Relations; Althea Kratz Hottel, Dean of Women and Lecturer in Sociology; and Elizabeth
B. Hurlock, Associate in Psychology. The School of Engineering and Applied
Science appointed [Clara Johanne] Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.,
a mechanical metallurgist, to the faculty position of Research Associate Professor
of Metallurgical Engineering (the present-day department of Materials Science
and Engineering), effective 1 July. She was the first woman to join the standing
faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. In 1960 the School reappointed
her and changed her title to Associate Professor of Metallurgy. She was therefore
the first woman to earn tenure in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Just one year later, in July 1961, the School promoted her to Professor of Metallurgical
Engineering. She was therefore the first woman to hold a senior professorship
at the School of Engineering and Applied Science. In 1963, however, Professor
Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf left Penn to accept an appointment as Professor of Engineering
Physics at the University of Virginia. There she flourished, eventually being
promoted to University Professor of Applied Science. In 1994 she was honored by
election to the National Academy of Engineering, with membership in the Materials
Engineering section of the Academy. | | | 1958 | The
University appointed Ruth Elizabeth Smalley to the academic administrator position
of Dean of the School of Social Work. She was the first woman to be appointed
Dean of that School and the second woman to be named an academic dean at Penn.
The School of Fine Arts promoted Stanislawa Nowicki, M. Arch., from the faculty
rank of Associate Professor to that of Professor of Architecture. She was the
first woman to hold a senior professorship at the School of Fine Arts.
At the Commencement held on 8 February, the University awarded the degree of Master
of Landscape Architecture to Marilyn Harriet Johnson. She was the first woman
to earn the M. L. Arch. degree at Penn. At the Commencement held on 11
June, the University awarded the degree of Bachelor of City Planning to Alice
Bernice Kalman and Carolyn Joan Sehl. They were the first women to earn the B.C.P.
degree at Penn. Academic year 1958-59 was the first year in which the University
published a combined Bulletin for all undergraduate programs of study at Penn.
It took the title Undergraduate Catalogue and included the College of Arts and
Sciences [for men], the College of Liberal Arts for Women, the five Engineering
Schools (Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering, and Metallurgical Engineering), the Wharton School, the School of
Education, the School of Fine Arts, the School of Nursing, and the School of Allied
Medical Professions. In the academic year 1958-59, the following women
held appointments in the standing faculty of the several undergraduate programs
of study at Penn: In the College of Arts and Sciences:
Madeleine M. Joullie, Associate in Chemistry; Malvena Taiz, Associate Professor
of Dance and Assistant Professor of Physical Education; Jenneatte P. Nichols,
Associate Professor of History; Stella Kramrisch, Professor of the History of
Art, Professor of Oriental Studies and Professor of South Asia Regional Studies;
Charlotte Epstein, Professor of Human Relations; Virginia K. Henderson, Lecturer
in Marriage; Joyce Michell, Associate Professor of Music; Elizabeth F. Flower,
Associate Professor of Philosophy; Hildegarde J. Farquhar, Associate Professor
of Physical Education; Elizabeth R. Burdick, Assistant Professor of Physical Education;
Doris K. Welsh, Assistant Professor of Physical Education; Elizabeth K. Ralph,
Associate in Physics; Anna A. Pirscenok, Instructor in Slavic Languages and Literature;
and Dorothy M. Spencer, Lecturer in South Asia Regional Studies. In
the five Engineering Schools: [Clara Johanne] Doris Wilsdorf, B.B.S.,
M.S., and Ph.D. in Materials Science, all three degrees awarded by the University
of Gottingen, and D.Sc., University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South
Africa, 1954, was an Associate Professor of Metallurgical Engineering in the School
of Engineering and Applied Science. Her research was in the area of solid state
physics. She was promoted to full Professor in the 1960-61 academic year. In later
years she became University Professor of Applied Science in the Department of
Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Virginia. In
the Wharton School: R. Jean Brownlee, Associate in Political Science;
Dorothy Swaine Thomas, Professor of Sociology; Eleanor S. Boll, Assistant Professor
of Sociology; Althea K. Hottel, Lecturer in Sociology; and Nancy L. Schnerr, Lecturer
in Statistics. In the School of Education: Mary E. Coleman,
Associate Professor of Education; Helen Huus, Associate Professor of Education;
Eleanor Dillinger, Assistant Professor of Education; Helen E. Martin, Assistant
Professor of Education; Jean Straub, Assistant Professor of Education; Mary M.
Lang, Lecturer in Education; Mabel L. Price, Lecturer in Education; Alice K. Watson,
Lecturer in Education; and Margaret F. Willson, Lecturer in Education.
In the School of Fine Arts: Stanislawa Nowicki, Professor of Architecture
and Professor of Fine Arts; In the School of Nursing:
Theresa I. Lynch, Professor of Nursing and Dean of the School; Adaline chase,
Associate Professor of Nursing; Mary E. Beam, Assistant Professor of Nursing;
Geraldine L. Ellis, Assistant Professor of Nursing; Marth A. Hunscher, Assistant
Professor of Nursing; Casmira A. Marciniszyn, Assistant Professor of Nursing;
Dorothy R. Marlow, Assistant Professor of Nursing; and Mary D. Shanks, Assistant
Professor of Nursing. In the School of Allied Medical Professions:
Harriet M. Boyd, Assistant Professor of Medical Technology and Director of the
Division of Medical Technology; Cornelie A.J. Goldberg, Instructor in Medical
Technology; Virginia L. Yonan, Instructor in Medical Technology; Helen S. Willard,
Professor of Occupational Therapy; Clare S. Spackman, Associate Professor of Occupational
Therapy; Virginia W. Cute, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy; Dorothy
E. Baethke, Professor of Physical Therapy; Stella Y. Botelho, Associate Professor
of Physical Therapy; Eleanor J. Carlin, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy;
and Rheta A. Weidenbacker, Associate in Physical Therapy. | | | 1959 |
In May, Barbara Ann Foster (B.S. in Ed., 1959) was the first recipient of the
Althea Kratz Hottel Award. Earlier that spring the University established the
Hottel Award as the first women's senior class leadership award. The Hottel Award
continues to the present time and honors "intellectual competence, commitment
to ideals and principles, and loyalty to the University of Pennsylvania."
At the suggestion of Dean Theresa I. Lynch, President Gaylord P. Harnwell
established the Advisory Council of the School of Nursing. The Advisory Council
was not an Advisory Board of the Trustees, but an oversight board that existed
at the pleasure of the Dean and the President. Its purpose was to "provide
such assistance and advice to the officers of the School of Nursing as may be
requested from time to time." President Harnwell appointed Ella (Read) Brewster
(1898-1998) Chair of the Advisory Council. She was the first woman to chair an
oversight committee of the School of Nursing. At the Commencement held on
10 June, the University awarded the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical
Engineering to Marcia Marie Ferris. She was the first woman to earn the B.S. in
E.E. degree at Penn. In June, after twenty-three years as a senior administrative
officer at Penn, Althea Kratz Hottel retired from the position of Dean of Women.
In recognition of her leadership among women at Penn, the University established
the first modern women's senior class leadership award (see first entry in 1959
above). In July, the University appointed Stella Kramrisch, Ph.D. (Hon.
LL.D., 1981), to the senior faculty position of Professor of South Asian Art in
the Department of South Asia Regional Studies in the Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences. She had previously held the faculty position of Visiting Research Professor
of Oriental Studies in the Graduate School, a five-year appointment, effective
from July 1954 through June 1959, and supported throughout that period by the
Bollingen Foundation. In August, the University announced the appointment
of Laura A. Bornholdt, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., to the senior administrative position
of Dean of Women. Prior to accepting her appointment at Penn, Dr. Bornholdt had
served as Dean of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. She had earned
the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts at Smith College, where she
had won election to Phi Beta Kappa, the national honorary society for scholastic
excellence. She had earned the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Yale
University. Her appointment at Penn included a lectureship in Penn's Department
of History. Dr. Bornholdt was appointed to succeed Althea Kratz Hottel, who had
retired in June. In October, the Trustees elected Althea Kratz Hottel a
Term Trustees of the University. She had retired from the position of Dean of
Women just four months earlier, but volunteered to continue as the head of the
fundraising campaign for the new women's residence hall. She was the second woman
to serve as a Term Trustee. She was re-elected a Term Trustee in 1964 and served
until the expiration of her second term in 1969. | | | 1960 | In
February, the University appointed Rebecca Jean Brownlee (B.S. in Ed., 1934; M.A.,
1936; Ph.D. in Political Science, 1940) to the academic administrator position
of Dean of the College of Liberal Arts for Women. She was the first woman to be
appointed Dean of that College and the third woman to be named an academic dean
at Penn. It should be noted, however, that Dean Brownlee did not hold the customary
authority and standing traditionally accorded the office of an academic Dean.
Perhaps this was due to the unique organization of the College for Women, which,
as stated in the 1960-61 Undergraduate Catalogue, "maintain[ed] no separate
faculty but dr[ew] upon the faculties of other schools of the University for its
instructional staff." This may explain why the appointment of Dr. Brownlee
to the position of Dean was not accompanied by an academic appointment. In May
1959, the University had promoted her to Assistant Professor of Political Science
in the Wharton School, but she was the only academic dean at Penn not to be a
tenured member of the faculty. In May, the Trustees elected Lillian G. Burns,
B.A., M.A., to the senior administrative position of Assistant Secretary of the
University. Prior to her election as Assistant Secretary, Ms. Burns had served
in a series of increasingly responsible administrative positions at Penn. She
was first employed in 1950 as an assistant to the Dean of Women in charge of women's
residences. She advanced, in succession, to Assistant Dean of Women, Assistant
to the Business Vice President, and Assistant to the Secretary of the University.
In 1959, at the founding of the West Philadelphia Corporation, University President
Gaylord P. Harnwell was elected President of the Corporation and Lillian G. Burns
was elected Secretary. She was re-elected Secretary in every subsequent year until
her departure from Penn in 1969. In October 1968, she was also elected a Director
of the West Philadelphia Corporation. In her work with the West Philadelphia Corporation,
Lillian Burns was fully engaged in the acquisition of land for the University
City Science Center. In October 1962, President Harnwell announced the appointment
of Ms. Burns to the position of Associate Planning Coordinator in the Office of
the President. In January 1965, President Harnwell announced the promotion of
Ms. Burns to the position of Coordinator of Planning for the University. In September
1969, shortly after the retirement of President Harnwell, Lillian Burns left Penn
to become Administrator of the American Cities Corporation in Columbia, Maryland.
In the years beginning in 1960 and continuing through 1969, Ms. Burns was the
highest ranking woman administrative officer in the central administration of
the University. At the Commencement held on 15 June, the University awarded
the degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering to Leona Frances Wirt.
She was the first woman to earn the B.S. in Ch.E. degree at Penn. Also
at the Commencement of June 1960, the University awarded the Annenberg School's
degree of Master of Arts in Communications to Susan Barrett Atwood. She was the
first woman to earn the M.A. in Comm. at Penn and the only woman in the first
graduating class of the Annenberg School. In November the University opened
the new Women's Residence Hall at the northeast corner of Thirty-Fourth and Walnut
Streets. It was the first building at Penn designed and constructed exclusively
for women students. (The Women's Residence Hall was re-named Hill House in 1965). Also
in November, Wellesley College, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, announced the appointment
of Laura Bornholdt as Dean of its College and Professor of History, effective
July 1961. Dr. Bornholdt served as Dean of Women at Penn from September 1959 to
June 1961. Also in November, the Graduate School of Medicine promoted Helena
Emma Riggs (A.B. 1921, M.D. 1925) from Assistant Professor of Pathology to Professor
of Neuropathology in the Department of Pathology. In 1950, she had been the second
woman to join the standing faculty in the Graduate School of Medicine. Now she
was the first woman to earn tenure in the Graduate School of Medicine and the
first to hold a senior professorship in that School. | | | 1961 |
In January, the University conducted formal dedicatory ceremonies at the Women's
Residence Hall. Funding for the $4 million building came principally from the
Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency, but the interior design and furnishings
were greatly enhanced by the generosity of alumnae and other friends of the University.
Althea K. Hottel, Trustee of the University and former Dean of Women, was Chair
of the Residence Campaign and Dedication Ceremony. Rheva H. Shryock was President
of the Association of Alumnae. Mrs. Shryock presented citations of honorary membership
in the Association to Mrs. William S. Peace and Mrs. W.H. Biester, Jr., who had
served as Co-Chairs of the Committee for Philadelphia House. These were the non-alumnae
friends of the University who contributed funds to the Women's Residence Hall.
President Harnwell presented the key to the new Residence to Kathryn Gray, who
was President of the Women Students Government Association, who, in turn,
presented it to Martha Taylor, who was President of the Residents Student
Council. Philadelphia House was named for eleven famous Philadelphia women
of the past. The eleven women were: - Hannah Callowhill Penn, second
wife of William Penn, for her service to her country
- Sarah Franklin Bache,
daughter of Benjamin Franklin
- Rebecca Gratz (1781-1869), community service
- Sarah Josepha (Buell) Hale (1788-1879), journalism
- Lucretia Coffin Mott
(1793-1880), humanitarian service
- Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), art
- Agnes
Repplier (1855-1950) (Hon. Litt.D., 1902), literature.
- Lucy Langdon Williams
Wilson (1864-1937), author on and teacher of elementary education
- Mary Engle
Pennington (Ph.D. in Chemistry, 1895), science (in 1908 she became the first head
of the new Food Research Laboratory established as a result of the Pure Food and
Drug Act of 1906)
- Frances Wister, cultural services
- Virginia Margaret
Alexander (B.S. in Ed., 1920), medicine.
The alumnae of the University
contributed the second house. It was named Alumnae House and included a formal
lounge, which the Association of Alumnae named the Althea Kratz Hottel Lounge.
The third house was named for Frances Holwell, the first woman to direct the 18th
century Charity School of the University. The fourth was named for Carrie Burnham
Kilgore (LL.B., 1883), the first woman graduate of the Law School of the University.
Finally, four activity rooms in the Women's Residence Hall were named in
honor of alumnae: - Mary Alice Bennett (Ph.D., 1880), first woman to earn
a degree at Penn
- Caroline B. Kilgore (LL.B., 1883), first woman graduate of
the Law School
- Pauline Wolcott Spencer (A.B., 1908; A.M. in Latin, Sociology,
and Psychology, 1910; Ph.D. in Sociology, 1915), first woman to earn the Bachelor
of Arts degree at Penn and in 1912, the first President of the Association of
Alumnae
- Sara Yorke Stevenson (Hon. Sc.D., 1894), founder of the University
Museum and first woman recipient of an honorary degree at Penn.
The Women's
Residence Hall was a celebration of all the achievements of women at Penn from
1753 to 1961. It was intended to be the new center for women's student life at
Penn. At the Commencement held on 5 June, the University awarded the degree
of Bachelor of Science in Chemistry to Phyllis Paula Fine. She was the first woman
to earn the B.S. in Ch. degree at Penn. In July, the University announced
the appointment of Constance P. Dent, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., to the senior administrative
position of Dean of Women. Prior to accepting her appointment at Penn, Dr. Dent
was Dean of Women and Associate Professor at Glassboro State College in Glassboro,
New Jersey. She earned the degree of Bachelor of Arts in psychology and biology
at Bucknell University in 1945; the degree of Master of Arts in psychology from
Temple University in 1951; and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in clinical
psychology from Pennsylvania State University in 1958. She had completed her Ph.D.
with the assistance of a fellowship awarded her by the American Association of
University Women. Althea Kratz Hottel had participated in the award of the fellowship
and thought highly of Dr. Dent. In December, the Trustees of Bucknell University
elected Dr. Dent a fellow Trustee of the University. Dr. Dent served as Dean of
Women at Penn from July 1961 through June 1966, when she accepted an appointment
of Professor of Psychology at Kutztown State College (now Kutztown University).
| | | 1962 | Sharon
Lee Ribner, College for Women, Class of 1964, was the first woman to join the
staff of the men's student newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian. She was a member
of the Junior Board in 1962-63 and the Senior Board in 1963-64. At the Commencement
held on 21 May, the University awarded the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering to Mary Jane Orloski. She was the first woman to earn the B.S. in
M.E. degree at Penn. Also at the Commencement of May 1962, the University
awarded the degree of Bachelor of Architectural Engineering to Elizabeth M. Boggs.
She was the first woman to earn the B. Arch. Eng. degree at Penn. |
| | 1963 | The
School of Veterinary Medicine promoted Monica Reynolds, B.S., A.B., Ph.D., from
Assistant Professor of Physiology to Associate Professor of Physiology in the
Department of Animal Biology. She was the first woman to earn tenure in the School
of Veterinary Medicine. In 1969 she was promoted to Professor of Physiology, the
first woman to hold a senior professorship in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
At the Commencement held on 20 May, the University awarded the degree of Master
of Science in Engineering to Judith Ann Maestrelli. She was the first woman to
earn the M.S.E. degree at Penn. Also at the Commencement of May 1963, the
University awarded the degree of Master of Science in Nursing to twenty-eight
women. These graduates were the first women to earn the M.S.N. degree at Penn. Also
in May, the Trustees appointed a woman Trustee, Katharine Elizabeth McBride, to
the first Joint Committee of the Annenberg School of Communications and the Trustees
of the University of Pennsylvania. The purpose of this decision-making, executive
committee of the Annenberg School was to "discharge the responsibility of
the Trustees of the University in the joint operation and control of the educational
program." Dr. McBride was the first woman member of the Joint Committee. In
July, the University established the Pennsylvania Program of Continuing Education
for Women, which was designed to attract "women beyond college age who have
the will and capacity for further study." The program was made possible in
its first two years by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which funded it through
substantial grants to the College of Liberal Arts for Women. Virginia Kinsman
Henderson (B.S. in Ed., 1930; M.A. in Psychology, 1936) was appointed the first
Director of Continuing Education. The first women to enroll in the program began
classes in September. | | | 1964 | The
University announced the merger of the faculties of the School of Medicine and
Graduate School of Medicine in a single faculty. The Graduate School of Medicine
became the Division of Graduate Medicine of the School of Medicine. The dental
courses in basic sciences formerly offered in the School of Medicine, Division
of Graduate Medicine, were transferred to the School of Dental Medicine, where
they and their faculty became the Division of Advanced Dental Education. The medical
and veterinary courses in basic sciences were transferred to the Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences. The Division of Graduate Medicine in the School of Medicine
offered the degrees of Master of Science in medical, dental, and veterinary clinical
specialties. It also continued to offer the Doctor of Science in the clinical
specialties of all three disciplines. Within the Division, the Department of Preventive
Medicine continued to offer advanced degrees in public health, both the Master
of Medical Science and Doctor of Medical Science. At the time of the merger
of the School of Medicine with the Graduate School of Medicine, the following
women held appointments in the standing faculty of the Graduate School:
In the Basic Medical Sciences: Helena Emma Riggs (A.B., 1921;
M.D., 1925), Professor of Neuropathology (Instructor, 1929-31; Associate, 1931-35
and 1948-50; Assistant Professor, 1950-60; Professor, 1960-68); Marilyn
E. Hess, B.S. (M.S., 1949; Ph.D. in Pharmacology, 1957), Assistant Professor of
Pharmacology (Instructor, 1957-60; Associate, 1960-62; Assistant Professor, 1962-68;
Associate Professor, 1968-76; full Professor, 1976-; Lindback Award, 1989);
Nallanna Lakshminarayanaiah, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology; Associate
Professor of Pharmacology, 1972; and Stella Y. Botelho (A.B., 1940), M.D.,
Associate Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology (Instructor, 1949-50; Associate,
1950-53; Assistant Professor, 1954-57; Associate Professor, 1957-69; Professor
of Physiology, 1969-85; Professor Emeritus, 1985-present; Alumni Award of Merit,
1968). In the Medical and Surgical Specialties: Margaret
Gray Wood, B.A., M.D., Assistant Professor of Dermatology (Assistant Professor
of Dermatology, 1968-71; Associate Professor of Dermatology (but without tenure),
1971-74; Clinical Professor of Dermatology in the Associated Faculty (without
tenure), 1977-80; Clinical Professor of Dermatology, July 1980 only; Professor
of Dermatology in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in the Standing
Faculty - Clinician-Educator - in the School of Medicine, August 1980-);
Leah Shore Finkelstein (B.S. in Ed., 1932; M.D., 1936), Assistant Professor of
Radiology (1969-76); Assistant Clinical Professor of Radiology in the Associated
Faculty (1976-78); and Adele K. Friedman, B.A., M.D., M.Sc. (Med.), Clinical
Assistant Professor of Radiology (Associate Professor of Radiology (but without
tenure), 1972-86; Associate Professor of Radiology in the Associated Faculty,
1986-). In the Dental Specialties: Mary Elizabeth Baumann
(B.S.N., 1957), Assistant Professor of Oral Histology and Pathology. In
the Veterinary Medical Sciences: None. | | | 1965 |
In June, the University appointed Dorothy Ann Mereness, A.B., R.N., M. Litt.,
Ed.D., to the senior academic administrator position of Dean of the School of
Nursing. She was the second woman to be appointed Dean of this School and the
fourth woman to be named an academic dean at Penn. Also in 1965, Zenovia
Alice Sochor (A.B., 1965) was the first woman at Penn to be named a Thouron Fellow.
| | | 1966 |
In the spring semester, Penn's undergraduate students elected Barbara Berger
(A.B., 1967) the first President of the merged Student Government Association.
She thereby became the first woman President of an Ivy League student government.
In October 1980, Barbara (Berger) Opotowsky returned to Penn as a Dean's "Visiting
Fellow" of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She had become a lawyer and
was the first woman to head New York City's Better Business Bureau. In
May, the University announced the appointment of Alice F. Emerson, B.A., Ph.D.,
to the senior administrative position of Acting Dean of Women and the faculty
position of Assistant Professor of Political Science. Prior to accepting her appointment
at Penn, Dr. Emerson was a Lecturer in Political Science at Bryn Mawr College. In
November, the Trustees elected Dr. Emerson to the position of Dean of Women. In
April 1969, the Trustees changed the title of Dean of Women to Dean of Students.
Alice Emerson was the first woman at Penn to hold the title of Dean of Students.
| | | 1967 | At
the Commencement held on 22 May, the University awarded the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Metallurgical Engineering to Anne Judith Apter. She was the first
woman to earn the B.S. in Metal. E. at Penn. Also at the Commencement of 1967,
the University awarded the Wharton School's degree of Master of Science in Accounting
to Virginia Leigh Swope. She was the first woman to earn the M.S. in Accounting
degree at Penn and the only woman in the first class of Wharton School graduates
to earn this degree. | | | 1968 |
After more than fifty years of separate events, the women's and men's Hey Day
ceremonies were merged in a single, co-educational program. During the traditional
Hey Day observances, the University conferred awards and honors on its most accomplished
undergraduate students. In December, the Trustees established the "Professional
Board for the School of Veterinary Medicine" and elected fourteen persons
as Associate Trustees of the University with membership on this professional board.
Two members of the first Board were women: Marietta Springer Patterson ("Mrs.
William D. Patterson") and Ella A. Widener Wetherill ("Mrs. Cortright
Wetherill"). They were the first women whose oversight responsibilities were
sought solely for the benefit of the School of Veterinary Medicine. |
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