Celebrating Pioneering Women

It’s no exaggeration to suggest that women of Vassar—both faculty and alums—have made a significant difference in the world of science and social justice since the College was founded more than 160 years ago. Pioneering astronomer Maria Mitchell, one of the first women to join the faculty in 1865, was among the first in a long line of women who set a standard of excellence in her field. As we observe Women’s History Month, here are some stories posted on our website that celebrate some of these women’s achievements:

• Frances Rosenthal Kallison, Class of 1929, ran a cattle ranch in Texas, but she also served on numerous boards and created charities for those in need. After she died in 2004, she was posthumously inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, joining such luminaries as Sandra Day O’Connor, Patsy Cline, Georgia O’Keefe, and Annie Oakley.
• Julia Lathrop, Class of 1880, spent most of her post-Vassar life fighting for better living conditions for the working poor and immigrant children in Chicago, Illinois. Her investigation, which was published in Hull House Maps and Papers, is now considered a major work in the history of American social science.
• Grace Hopper, Class of 1928, has been called the “mother of computing” for groundbreaking work in the field’s earliest days. After studying at Yale, she returned to Vassar in 1931 to teach mathematics and later went to Harvard University to work on one of the world’s first computers. She then joined the U.S. Navy Reserve, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral.
• Throughout her career, Dr. June Jackson Christmas ’45-4 made a significant impact on improving mental health services for vulnerable people. She founded the Harlem Rehabilitation Center, a nationally recognized program; served as principal investigator on research projects for the National Institute of Mental Health; led New York City’s mental health agency under three mayors; and led the transition of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare for Jimmy Carter.
• Another pioneering scientist, Vera C. Rubin ’48, is credited with shedding new light on the nature of the universe. Her study of the rotation of galaxies indicated that they contained some hidden gravitational force—dark matter—that led astronomers to reimagine how the universe is structured.
• Vassar women—both faculty and students—played a key role in the Women’s Suffrage Movement. They included Inez Milholland (1909), Lucy Burns (1902), Gertrude Crocker (1907), Elsie Hill (1906), Florence Brewer Boeckel (1908), Elizabeth McShane (1913), and Martha Reed Shoemaker (1910). One of the most prominent Vassar suffragettes was Harriot Stanton Blatch (1878), the daughter of pioneering suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Blatch began her work on women’s voting rights in the U.S. after living in England for 20 years. There, she worked with the Women’s Franchise League, forming the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women to help recruit working-class women to the movement.