The University of Illinois has created a new website that celebrates the accomplishments that women have achieved during the university’s 150-year history. The website is organized with different sections for each decade of the twentieth century as well as for the eras prior to 1900 and after 2000. The website highlights women who have made significant contributions as students, faculty members, staff or alumni.
Among the women featured in the pre-1900 section are Katherine Merrill the first known woman faculty member at the University of Illinois. She was hired as assistant professor of literature in 1892. Also featured is Mary Louise Page, who graduated in 1878 with a bachelor’s degree from the College of Engineering. Page was the first woman in the United States to graduate with a degree in architecture.
The project was under the direction of Cindy Ingold, the gender and multicultural services librarian and chair of the Gender Equity Council at the university. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in English from Western Illinois University. She also earned a master of library and information sciences degree from the University of Missouri.