Jacksonville, AL – For 140 years, JSU women have been making history on campus and beyond. English instructor Eliza A. Bowen – one of the first women faculty hired when the institution began in 1883 – was a nationally known writer, still remembered for authoring a definitive astronomy textbook. Student Heather Whitestone McCallum was crowned the first deaf Miss America in 1995.
Dr. Roberta Watts, who became JSU’s first black faculty member in 1969 and first black dean in 1983, was also the first black nursing dean of a non-historically black university in Alabama. Student-athlete Ashley Martin Cockrellbecame the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I American football game in 2001. And, of course, there’s JSU friend and former staff member Lilly Ledbetter, who had a piece of legislation bearing her name signed into law by President Obama in 2009.
Inspired by the contributions of these and other legendary JSU women, the campus will recognize Women’s History Month 2023 throughout March with the following events.
JSU Storytellers:
March 2, 5-7 p.m., Leone Cole Auditorium
This open mic night will include a keynote by Sandra Sudduth, a retired JSU education instructor who served on city council for 30 years. Please sign up if you plan to take the stage.
No Man’s Land
March 14, 5:30 p.m., Rec Center
Enjoy an evening of film and discussion as we shine a spotlight on women in outdoor recreation.
Women’s March
March 28, 12 p.m., Theron Montgomery Building
March from the TMB to McCluer Chapel, where there will be an awards ceremony for female identifying individuals on campus who bring about positive change.
