A century and a half of greatness

The nominees for the website were evaluated for their leadership, pioneering achievements and distinguished service in careers both within and outside the University community. (Image by Eric Todd Wilson)

A new website titled, “150 for 150,” celebrates the accomplishments of women during the 150-year history of the University of Illinois. Created as part of the University’s sesquicentennial celebration, the website highlights the work of female students, faculty members, staff and alumni.

Their accomplishments include leadership, pioneering achievements and distinguished service in careers both within and outside the University community. Many were early champions for the inclusion of more women in their fields.

Those featured include such historic figures as Lucy Flower, the first female trustee at Illinois (elected to the board in 1895); Maudelle Brown Bousfield, LAS 1906, the first African American woman to graduate from Illinois (and later, the first female African American principal of a Chicago public school); and home economics professor Isabelle Bevier. UI women whose work has influenced the contemporary world range from Nobel Prize-winning physicist Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, ms ’42 ENG, PHD ’45 ENG, and Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks, MEDIA ’64, to trailblazing volleyball coach Terry Hite David, AHS ’72, MS ’75 AHS, and Rita Garman, LAS ’65, current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Acclaimed architect Jeanne Gang, FAA ’86, is celebrated on the website, as are actress Betsy Brandt, FAA ’96, paralympian and marathon champion Tatyana McFadden, AHS ’16, and many others.

The website is a collaboration between the University Library and the UI Gender Equity Council, whose mission is to foster a gender-equitable and inclusive climate for faculty, academic professionals, graduate students and leaders at Illinois.