Amy Solomon (center) was the first female to register as an undergraduate at Yale. The early years of coeducation and the contributions of women since then will be explored in events hosted by the Tercentennial Office and Women's Faculty Forum.

Transformations brought about by Yale women

Coeducation and women's changing roles at the University are among the topics being explored in a series of presentations and public discussions cosponsored by the Tercentennial Office and the Women's Faculty Forum during Women's History Month. The events -- which include the screening of two films and a discussion by distinguished alumnae -- highlight the transformations brought by Yale women. All of the events are free and open to the public. The event opened with the screening of the award-winning film "Boola Boola ... Yale Goes Coed" on March 20 and 22 in the lecture hall of the Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St. The film, which describes the early days of coeducation at Yale, was made by Julia Pimsleur '90 when she was an undergraduate. Pimsleur, who is now co-owner of Big Mouth Productions, Inc., provided commentary along with Yale graduates Margaret Homans '74, professor of English; Nina Glickson '73, assistant to President Richard C. Levin; Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead '68, '70 M.Phil., '72 Ph.D.; Yale Law School Dean Anthony Kronman '70 M.Phil., '72 Ph.D., '75 J.D.; and Gaddis Smith '54, Larned Professor Emeritus of History. "A Hero for Daisy," a film about two-time Olympian Chris Ernst '76, who in her senior year galvanized her rowing team to storm the athletic director's office to protest the lack of proper locker room facilities for women, will be shown on Wednesday, March 28, at 7 p.m. in Rm. 102 of Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 63 High St. Ernst's initiative helped alert the nation about the inequities that persisted in college athletics after the passage of Title IX legislation. Yale College alumnae Sandra Boynton '74, DRA '79, Kathleen Cleaver '84, LAW '89 and Laura Scher '80 will reflect on their years at Yale and and their lives since then in a panel discussion titled "Women at Yale and Beyond (WAY Beyond)." This event will take place on Thursday, March 29, at 7 p.m. in Rm. 102 of Linsly-Chittenden Hall. "The Women Faculty Forum came together to make sure that Tercentennial events would take note of women in the Yale community, and alumnae of Yale, and this panel is simply one outcome," says Nancy F. Cott, the Stanley Woodward Professor of History and American Studies. "We want to alert undergraduates, especially, to the relatively recent date that Yale College became coeducational -- and to the result that now (as compared to the first 270 years of its history), there are thousands of women who, for their own individual reasons, attended Yale College. In talking about their lives then and since, they will give some inkling of the range and accomplishments of Yale alumnae, and, I hope, provide very interesting glimpses of different intellectual, social and occupational trajectories." Boynton, an artist and cartoonist, has achieved fame for her line of greeting cards, which she began making as a way of supporting herself in graduate school. She has designed over 8,000 cards and has written and illustrated 30 books for children and adults. In addition, she has created best-selling collections of wallpaper, T-shirts, balloons and calendars, and more recently branched into the music business by composing and collaborating on musical cassettes and CDs for children. Cleaver is an attorney, professor, author and former member of the Black Panther Central Committee. She has spent most of her life participating in the human rights struggle. Currently a senior research associate at the Law School, she also is executive producer of the International Black Panther Film Festival. Scher cofounded and is chair and chief executive officer of Working Assets, a long distance, credit card, Internet services and broadcasting company that donates a percentage of its revenue to nonprofit groups. Since its founding in 1985, Working Assets has donated nearly $20 million to such groups as Greenpeace and Planned Parenthood. This event exploring the transforming contributions of women is one of many Tercentennial events offering the opportunity for scholarly reflection about Yale's progress in the past century, its place in higher education and its contributions to society. For more information, visit the Tercentennial website at www.yale.edu/yale300 or call the Tercentennial office at (203) 432-0300. T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S New Divinity Dean named Galleries reopen in dramatically transformed space University's longstanding focus on humanities Transformation brought about by Yale women Fleury charts future of Yale Engineering Study demonstrates role of enzyme in cocaine addiction Foreign minister, law professor to debate the Taliban Maynard Mack, world-renowned scholar of Shakespeare, dies Richard Ruggles, noted economic statistician, dies Yaledancers to perform spring concert at the Palace theater The eyes will be the focus of two events hosted by Unite for Sight Gemini Duo to present concert benefiting St. Thomas More Conference looks at state's water conflicts Memorial service is planned for Claude Palisca Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News|Bulletin Board Yale Scoreboard|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page