As the nation celebrates Women's History Month, we are reminded of the role women have played in Penn State history and the important milestones reached over the years. We'd like to share with you some of these highlights, and we realize that our list is far from complete:
Rebecca Hannah Ewing was the first woman graduate of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania in 1873.
The first international woman enrolled at The Pennsylvania State College was Elizabeth B. Perry of La Prarie, Quebec, Canada, in 1884.
In 1897, Blanche P. Miller, one of the few female instructors on campus, was hired to look after the "leisure and recreational"Â needs of the College's female students. Miller also was the first female president of the Penn State Alumni Association (1903-04).
In 1907, The Pennsylvania State College officially established the Department of Home Economics. Seventeen years later, in 1924, the department conferred its first master's degree.
Grace M. Henderson was appointed dean of the newly renamed School of Home Economics in 1949, becoming the first woman in Penn State history to receive an academic deanship appointment.
In 1958, Trustees created the Penn State Woman of the Year Award. The first recipient was Julia Gregg Brill.
In 1972, Jackie Scheurin Tate, a senior in nuclear engineering, became the first woman reactor operator at Penn State.
The University Commission on Women was established in 1982 to improve the environment for the performance of women faculty, staff and students.
In 2004, Cynthia A. Baldwin, the first African-American woman judge elected to the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas, became the first African-American woman to preside over Penn State's Board of Trustees.
Penn State is celebrating Women's History Month with events that highlight such topics as eating disorders, women's human rights, credit management, professional development, and balancing career and family. Women also are being celebrated through theatre, film, music, and art. For more information about the events taking place at Penn State, visit http://live.psu.edu/story/10532