Nine years after her retirement in 1972, Dr. Mildred Martin is awarded the Bucknell Medal for Distinguished Teaching and Scholarship. She is pictured here with former students Jack Wheatcroft, Class of Class of 1949, and Philip Roth, Class of 1954.

Kalp, Public Relations

When asked during an interview about female students in her classes, Professor Hulda Magalhaes told the following anecdote:
"I had a very bright female student in one class. What I would do for tests was, we would have several premeditated tests. Several of the students had actually done better than their test scores had indicated. I offered these students a make up test and this would allow them to raise their grades. This one female student refused to take the test because then she would end up with a better grade than her boyfriend, who attended another college. She felt that getting an 'A' would hurt her chances with the 'B' average boyfriend. That really floored me!"

Despite earlier limitations placed on women in science and academe, Professor Magalhaes made her own way and is considered an accomplished teacher and respected researcher. She feels women need to learn how to survive and that they should be recognized for their competence rather than their gender. She says in a 1982 Bucknell World article that she was able to be productive because she was adaptable. "Growing up in Brooklyn, you learn how to get along," she says, "You duck when someone's taller than you and you kick when someone's shorter." Professor Magalhaes, a direct descendent of Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator, says, "Your ears get flexible. You get to know what's coming."

The zoologist who also studied nutrition and made her own wine, was quoted as saying "The dames who think the world owes it to them ought to know that quotas are illegal."

WRC Interview, 6/95; Bucknell World, May/June 1982

Denise Cohen graduated from Bucknell in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Psychology. While at Bucknell, she lettered in basketball, volleyball and softball, captaining the last two sports. Cohen's first administrative job was at Molloy College from 1984 to 1990, where she served as an Athletic Director and assistant basketball coach. During this time, she received her master's degree in sports management from Adelphi University, NY, in 1987. In 1990, Cohen became an assistant Athletic Director, then served as interim Athletic Director and women's golf coach at the University of Hartford, CT. In order to gain more experience, Cohen moved on to an institution that had a football program. In 1994, she accepted the position of Senior Woman Administrator and Marketing Director in athletics at the University of the Pacific, CA. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funds, the football program at the university was cut during the next season.

During this time, the United States Air Force Academy had changed to NCAA Division I status, thereby creating the position of Senior Woman Administrator. Cohen has held this position since August 1995; initially she was the only woman administrator in her department of 270 employees. Cohen, who is the first civilian woman working for the Air Force Academy's athletic program, presently holds a rank equivalent to a colonel in the military.

Women in Higher Education, July 1997

Dr. Karen Dugger, Chair and Associate Professor of Sociology, recalls an incident from 1984, the year she began teaching at Bucknell. She was the featured guest on a WVBU call-in show called "Dial A Feminist" scheduled to coincide with National Women's History Week. Of the 19 calls she received, 18 were from men, most from fraternities, where, at the time, students had the readiest access to private phones.

"One of the most 'interesting questions'," Dugger smiles, "was from a male caller, who said to me, 'I don't understand why you need a week to celebrate women's history. What have they ever done?'"

Dugger told him, "That question is a consequence of your profound miseducation." While she said the student was not responsible for his lack of knowledge, she pointed out "your question points to the necessity for a curriculum transformation project here at Bucknell. Women have been tremendous actors in history. You don't know that because your educations has not taught you that."

Several years later as founder and co-director of the Race/Gender Resource Center, Dugger says, "What I would like our curriculum transformation project to do is to make it impossible for any student to ask that question."

Bucknell World, January 1990

Recollection

Linda Naugle '85, came to Bucknell after a year and half at Hartford College, and later attended Graduate School at Michigan State University. She remembers:
"I did not take part in the Greek System. I do not agree that the Greek system was very favorable at that time. I had many social frustrations that stemmed from my attempts to fit the social norm at Bucknell." As a resident of Lewisburg her goal was to attend any University but Bucknell. As a transfer student she thought of Bucknell in different ways than anybody else. She lived off campus and didn't really have a lot of the social integration that a lot of students do.
"I was a Political Science major and at the time there weren't any Political Science professors who were female. I think that just began when I graduated. I think the University is changing in a positive manner, for women are taking on higher positions. I would like to see more female professors in the engineering and science fields. I would like to see a more diverse population as well, as far as sexual orientation is concerned, race, ethnic background, and social class. It would be nice for folks to get a different perspective in the academic setting. That is what I hope to see happen at Bucknell.
"When I graduated from Bucknell, I would have never imagined that I would return here to work as a professional. Coming back to work here has been quite nice because I come back to familiar surroundings. But then sometimes I feel like I'm not really moving forward. So I look forward to finding a way to move forward and maintain the good experiences that I have had at this university. Sometimes, I look back and say "Bucknell, it's been a part of my life since I was born. But it has been very significant, very positive in my past. I hope the experience will be good for everybody who goes through this university."

Women Remember When 1980's

During a 1985 interview, Gladys Cook, retired Professor of French, recalled:

"Oh yes, we were not allowed to smoke or drink anything when I came. At that time I didn't smoke much, but I did smoke a little bit. So my first night here I think I went out to the cemetary and found all the students out there smoking. So, I decided I had to find another place. So I met a couple of women that lived downtown and they said, 'you can come down here anytimes you want to smoke.' Well, I didn't smoke much, but just now and then."

Public Relations

During Spring Weekend, a group of predominantly black students and several faculty members stage a "talk in" on the terrace outside the Bison snack bar. Students discuss their experiences at Bucknell and the "perceived lack of concern about the welfare and education of black students." Following this emotional and compelling testimony, the group presents a list of goals they hope to achieve, one goal being an expansion of the support system already in place.
While Judy Jackson, considered a strong voice of support, is employed part-time to serve the needs of both foreign and domestic minority students, students feel they need a place to go with their concerns and interests.
Vernese Edgehill, '87, a Dana Scholar working in the office of the Vice President for Planning and Administration, travels to other campuses during the summer, investigating the models other institutions use to address the needs of minority students. A report is issued and a petition and letters of support are sent to President Gary Sojka calling for the establishment of a Multicultural Center.

The Bucknellian 2/22/91, 1991 Student Handbook