Women gradually populated NC State. Although the university opened its doors in 1889, it wasn’t until 1921 that the first full-time female student enrolled. This shouldn’t take one by surprise; consider that women’s suffrage was implemented only a year earlier. Imaginably, it was inevitable for women to infiltrate the campus eventually. Nevertheless, it’s important to reflect on those who treaded here first: women of admirable tenacity who created a sense of equity on campus. Bear in mind the external elements in history that shape the following timeline; moreover, envision the path women have paved in light of ceaseless complications.
1890: First female employed
Sue Carroll is the first employee of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts [A&M]. Her role is to oversee the dormitories and the Cadet Hospital, the original student health center located in Holladay Hall.
1899: The Board of Trustees for A&M officially votes to accept women to the college.
1899: “Special Students“
Upon admission to the university, women are categorized as “special students,” unless they are enrolled in a textile course.
1901: First female student
Margaret Burke enrolls in a physics course.
1902: First female faculty member
Adeline Stevens teaches biology for one full academic year.
1921: First full-time female student
Wilmington native Lucille Thomson is the first classified as a full-time student, majoring in electrical engineering. However, it isn’t until 1930 that a female student, Ada Curtis Spencer, enrolls as a freshman.
1941: Deteriorating enrollment
Women are denied enrollment; 20 women take classes among nearly 2,500 men.
1941: First female Engineering graduate
In the late 1930s, Katharine Stinson took flying lessons at the former Raleigh airport when an unexpected visitor flew in — Amelia Earhart. After confessing her dream of becoming a pilot, Earhart urged her to pursue a degree in engineering. After graduating, Stinson goes on to serve on several respectable platforms including the Civil Aeronautics Administration, the Society of Women Engineers and an aviation advisory committee under former president Lyndon B. Johnson, according to NCSU Libraries.
1956: First female Ph.D. recipient: Patricia Anne Sarvella
1959: First national sorority established
Sigma Kappa kicks off its first pledge dance at the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst.
1964: First female dorm opens
Watauga Hall remodels to accommodate undergraduate single women on campus. Prior to this, women lived off campus, according to NCSU Libraries.
1966: First female African-American undergraduate degree recipient
Norma Wright Garcia receives a degree in history.
1970: First female Student Body President, Cathy Sterling
1971: First female valedictorian, Jane Carol Pickard
1974: NC State’s first women’s basketball team established
Two years later, NC State televises its first basketball game. The Wolfpack beats the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 68-58, according to NCSU Libraries.
1980: First female Athlete of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference
Track and cross-country runner Julie Shea Sutton becomes ACC athlete of the year. In 2012, she is inducted into the NC State Athletics Hall of Fame.
1983: Women’s golf becomes a varsity sport
1987: Susan Nutter appointed as the first female director of Libraries
Under Nutter’s term, the libraries grow immensely in volumes and electronic collections. The amount of volumes surge from less than 2 million to over 4 million. Resultantly, the libraries climb in rankings.
1988: Jennifer Holland becomes the first female field conductor of the NC State marching band
1989: First College of Engineering female African-American faculty member
Christine Grant teaches in chemical engineering.
1989: Women’s and Gender Studies program opens
1990: Maya Angelou is NC State’s first female commencement speaker
1991: Women’s Center emerges
For the past 25 years, the Women’s Center has functioned as a resource for social justice, diversity and leadership.
1994: Barbara Paramore is the first female to receive Holladay Medal
Named after the first university president, Alexander Holladay, the medal is the highest faculty honor.
1998: Chavonda Jacobs-Young awarded a Ph.D.
Jacobs-Young is the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in paper science.
1998: Marye Anne Fox becomes the first female chancellor at NC State
Fox serves until 2004, at which time she becomes chancellor of the University of California, San Diego. In 2010, President Barack Obama awards Fox with a National Medal of Science.
2000: Board of Trustees names Peaches Simpkins as the first female chair
2010: The College of Textiles appoints Cynthia Istook, the college’s first female full-professor
Katharine Stinson was the first woman to graduate from the College of Engineering in 1941. She sought a degree in mechanical engineering after an unanticipated encounter with Amelia Earhart.
