NC State, established in 1887, accepted its first female student in 1901. The first female faculty member was hired in 1902 as a biology instructor, and the first full-time female student was accepted in 1921 as an electrical engineering major. With such a history of relative inclusion, why is it that the first female commencement speaker was not chosen until 1990, when renowned civil rights activist, poet and author Maya Angelou gave the address?
Since Angelou’s address, the university has had four other female speakers, with a sixth slated to speak at this year’s commencement celebrations.
Some may argue that there just haven’t been enough women over the past century who have been influential or inspirational enough to give a university commencement address, but we all know that’s not true. Over the past century alone, there have been a number of brilliantly inspirational women from North Carolina that could have been selected to address and motivate the graduating students from NC State.
The lack of female representation at this university is not limited to commencement speakers; the university’s first and only female chancellor, Marye Anne Fox, served from 1998 to 2004 before accepting a position as chancellor at the University of California, San Diego.
Although female students had been enrolled at the university since 1901, and full time since 1921, the first degrees conferred to women were not awarded until 1927. Even today, I hear stories from female peers in male-dominated fields — such as agriculture or some engineering concentrations — who feel they are being treated as inferior or not worthy enough while conducting research, attending classes or working at an internship or co-op.
Two years ago, another student wrote a similar piece criticizing NC State for not selecting more female commencement speakers, stating that, “Commencement speakers serve as a reflection of the institution at which they are speaking.” The author goes on to quote then director of the NC State Women’s Center, who says that, “the lack of female speakers at NC State reflects the history of the university.”
The speaker for this year’s commencement celebrations, Admiral Michelle Howard, is an incredibly accomplished woman. The first black female to earn the rank of four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy, Howard enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy just two years after it opened its doors to women.
If this university can ask Chancellor John T. Caldwell, a no-doubt accomplished and well-loved part of the university’s history, to speak at no less than eight commencement celebrations, they can find and select more than just five female commencement speakers to inspire and motivate students as they graduate and move on to the rest of their lives.
