Mary Gordon, the first director of the women’s studies program at Santa Clara University in California, died on December 24 in Santa Monica. She was 89 years old.
A native of Toowoomba, Australia, Gordon spent World War II working in the Australian intelligence service. She graduated from the University of Sydney and then took a fellowship at Radcliffe College of Harvard University, where she earned a master’s degree in history.
Professor Gordon joined the faculty at Santa Clara University in 1975. She founded the women’s studies program in 1980. At Santa Clara, Professor Gordon achieved many milestones. She was the first woman to gain tenure in the history department, the first woman to hold an endowed chair in the Arts & Sciences, and the first woman faculty member to serve on the board of trustees.
Professor Gordon was the editor of Overland to California with the Pioneer Line (Stanford University Press, 1984). She retired from the Santa Clara University faculty in 1992.