Women's History Month 2009

Charlotte Ann Vaux "Charlotte joined us at the beginnning of the second term, 1916-1917. Her home is in Washington, D.C. After her career at Prep School in West Virginia, she decided to take up the noble art of farming, and for that purpose she entered M.S.C. She has the honor of being the first Co-ed to graduate from this institution. - 1918 Reveille Yearbook

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Women students were admitted to Maryland beginning in 1916 - and it didn't take long for them to have an impact. "Women changed life at the university almost immediately," says University Archivist Anne Turkos.

"Very quickly they began organizing their own sports teams, student government, and other activities. They established the first sorority only four short years after their arrival. They have fought steadily for recognition and equality in the classroom and lab, in the arts, and on the playing field."

Turkos adds, "Their numbers have risen to the point where they now comprise close to 50% of the student body, and they form a vital part of every academic discipline on campus. We have many female alumni of whose accomplishments we can be justly proud."

The month-long celebration provides a way for Marylanders - and all Americans - to take a longer look at the progress women have made in the past, where they are today, and where they will be going in the future. Richard Eaton Professor of Broadcast Journalism (and acting Journalism Dean) Lee Thornton puts it this way: "Dwell, focus and meditate on the past as well as on what's to come."

Distinguished Professor of Sociology Harriet Presser says, "We've come a long way but there is a long way still to go." "Women's contributions," she adds, "are often constrained by gender norms and institutions that limit educational and occupational opportunities."

"Women still labor under big disabilities that need correction," adds Emerita Economics Professor Barbara Bergmann. She points to severe discrimination that still exists in the labor market as one prime example, along with the unfair sharing of housework by working couples, as well as domestic violence.

Maryland created a Commission on Women's Issues in 1974 and began its Women's Studies Department in 1977. Today, courses on women and issues of importance to women, are regularly offered by twenty departments and programs throughout the university. Professor Bonnie Thornton Dill chairs the Women's Studies Department. Her reseach focuses on the intersections of race, class and gender with an emphasis on African American women and families. She says Women's History Month provides an important opportunity to focus on rewriting history, to give a more comprehensive account of the impact women of color have had on U.S. history." She says that women's experiences have often been "ignored and distorted."

Fellow Women's Studies Professor Lynn Bolles adds that the U.S. has a short memory. "It is important for people of all ages to remember the women, who directly or indirectly, made a difference in their lives by their actions as artists, scholars, teachers, policy makers or the person next door," she says.

Here at Maryland, we have ample examples of women who have made a difference. Women like Carmen Balthrop, M. Lucia James, Judith Resnik, Adele Stamp, Debbie Yow, Jane Cahill Pfeiffer, Alma Preinkert, Connie Chung, Cathleen Magee and many, many more. And we can't forget our fantastic women's sports teams - like the Lady Terps who were 2009 regular season basketball champs and won the 2009 ACC Tournament. They were 2006 NCAA champs. The women's field hockey team won the NCAA championship for the 6th time in 2008.

On the following pages, we'd like to share what The Women of Maryland have done to distinguish themselves, their university and our community.

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