Karol Kahrs began at Illinois in 1966 as an instructor in the College of Physical Education and spent many years coaching women’s sports. In 1974, she moved up to the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics to develop the University’s women’s intercollegiate athletics program. After 36 years of...
Women in History
Lorella Margaret Jones joined the Physics faculty in 1968 and was the first woman in the College of Engineering to receive tenure. Lorella was a high-energy theoretical physicist and an early adopter and promoter of Illinois’ PLATO (later known as NovaNet), the first large-scale computer-assisted...
Lynn Morley Martin graduated in 1960 with a degree in the teaching of English. Lynn served in the Illinois House of Representatives, the Illinois Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives, where she secured a seat on the Budget Committee as a freshman member of Congress. She also served as U.S...
Marianna Tax Choldin began as a professor of Library Administration at the University of Illinois in 1969 and remains an adjunct professor for the School of Information Sciences today. In 1991, she became the founding director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs. In her time...
Mary-Elizabeth Hamstrom began in the Mathematics department in 1961. She was promoted to Professor in 1966; 1 of 4 female full professors in College of LAS. She was an authority in point-set and geometric topology with special interest in spaces of homeomorphisms of manifolds. Women featured...
We have Nancy Goodman Brinker for today's Women in History Wednesday. Nancy Goodman Brinker graduated in 1968 with a degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is the founder and Chair of Global Strategy for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, an organization named for her sister who...
For this Women In History Wednesday, we have Nancy M. O’Fallon Dowdy! She graduated with a Master of Science in 1961 in Nuclear Engineering and received her PhD in Physics in 1966. She was instrumental in nuclear disarmament dialogues after the Cold War. She served as Assistant Vice President...
Nicole Hollander graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1960 and is known for her daily comic strip titled Sylvia. She is also known for her graphic design work in the feminist publication, The Spokeswoman, where she had the opportunity to transform the newsletter...
Happy Women in History Wednesday! Nina Baym joined the English Department’s faculty in the 1960s and remained a professor for over 40 years. Nina helped expand the field of American literature to include women writers. She was named a Swanlund Endowed Chair, a Jubilee Professor in the College of...
For this week's Women in History, we have Patsy Parker. She graduated from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences in 1968. During her junior year in the spring semester of 1967, she became the first female to be elected student body president at the University of Illinois. Women featured...
This Women in History Wednesday we celebrate UIUC alumna Justice Rita B. Garman. Rita B. Garman graduated from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1965. While a student, she graduated with highest honors and was also a Bronze Tablet graduate. She is now the current Chief Justice of the...
Happy Women in History Wednesday! Today we honor Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, an advocate for democracy in Taiwan imprisoned for over five years for speaking out against the government. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Law in 1971. She established herself as a feminist...
Happy Women in History Wednesday! Today we celebrate Mary Temple Grandin! Mary graduated with a PhD from the College of ACES in 1989. Mary is a well-known professor of animal sciences, but she is best known for being one of the first individuals on the autism spectrum to speak out about her...
Happy Women in History Wednesday! This week we celebrate Leslie Erganian! As an UIUC alum, she has become a well-known artist and photographer with several exhibitions, publications, and television appearances. Right after graduation, Leslie displayed her work at the Phyllis Needlman Gallery in...
Happy Women in History Wednesday! This week we celebrate UIUC alum Jeanne Gang! She's an architect and MacArthur Fellow who founded the firm Studio Gang Architects. One of her famous works is the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo. To read more about Jeanne's impact, visit ...
Happy Women In History Wednesday! Today we celebrate UIUC alum Iris Chang. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 1989 with a degree in Journalism. While in undergrad, she was on staff at the Daily Illini. As an alum, she wrote for the New York Times producing six front-page articles in...
Barbara established WGGP through interdisciplinary efforts of the Committee on Women in Development on campus and funding from a Title XII Strengthening Grant of the Foreign Assistance Act.
Happy #WomeinInHistoryWednesday! Today we are honoring Arlene Torres, who was a leading advocate for the interdisciplinary scholarship of many students, faculty, and staff while at Illinois. Learn more about Arlene at...
Happy #WomenInHistoryWednesday! Today we are honoring Terry Hite David, head coach of the women’s volleyball team, member of the Project 500 group, and recipient of the Merit Award from the Varsity “I” Association. Learn more about Terry at WGGP's "150 to 150!" https://gec150.web.illinois.edu/...
This Wednesday we are so excited to celebrate Susan "Suze" Orman, an influential business icon well known for her financial advice, motivational speaking, writing, and television show. Learn more about Suze at WGGP's "150 for 150!" https://gec150.web.illinois.edu/1970s/susan-suze-orman/...
This #WomenInHistoryWednesday we are honoring Susan Lindquist, one of the most respected molecular biologists in the world. She received the National Medal of Science award in 2010, among many other awards. Learn more on...
Happy #WomenInHistoryWednesday! Today we are celebrating Sheila Crump Johnson. Sheila co-founded the ground breaking Black Entertainment Television (BET) network. Learn more about Sheila and her many accomplishments at https://gec150.web.illinois.edu/1970s/shelia-crump-johnson/ #wggpillinois
Alice Deck, nominated by a faculty mentee, joined the English department’s faculty in the 1980s and later became affiliated with the African American Studies program. She retired in 2011. As a teacher, Alice was a source of support for numerous students within and beyond her departmental...
Joan L. Mitchell came to the University of Illinois in 1969 as a physics graduate student and received her PhD in 1974. Joan went to work for the IBM Corporation in the Exploratory Printing Technologies Group at the T.J. Watson Research Center. The holder of more than 70 patents, Joan was one of...
Joan Huber came to the University of Illinois in 1971, teaching a range of sociology courses as well as Introduction to Women’s Studies in the Social Sciences. She was director of the Women’s Studies Office, which is now the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and also was head of the...
