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    MSU in the 1990s: 10 Spartan milestones

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Social Sciences

March 2, 2022

Historic firsts for Spartan women

Meet some of the trailblazing women who left their mark on MSU

By: Melody Kindraka, Kelsie Lane, Emilie Lorditch
Since 1870 when the first female students were admitted to Michigan State University, then the Michigan Agricultural College, Spartan women have been making their mark on the world. From the initial 10 students to now making up more than half of MSU’s enrollment, women are an integral part of the university’s history and its future. 

Learn about some of the early trailblazers who stepped into roles traditionally held by men to earn degrees, lead departments and create successful careers.
Images overlaid on a pink wallpaper-patterned background; Portraits of students at MSU including Myrtle Craig Mowbray
Images overlaid on a pink wallpaper-patterned background; Physics and Engineering building (1928) and Ethel V. Lyon
Images overlaid on a pink wallpaper-patterned background; Eva Coryell and first MSU female graduates standing in front of the MSU Rock
Images overlaid on a pink wallpaper-patterned background; Image of commencement program and snippet of the listing for Julia Loomis Matthews, image of female students working in a chemistry lab
Images overlaid on a pink wallpaper-patterned background; Linda Landon working in M.A.C Library, portrait of Linda Landon
Images overlaid on a pink wallpaper-patterned background; images of Mary Jane Cliff Merrill Carpenter and the M.A.C. Library
Images overlaid on a pink wallpaper-patterned background; Portraits of students at MSU including Myrtle Craig Mowbray
Images overlaid on a pink wallpaper-patterned background; Physics and Engineering building (1928) and Ethel V. Lyon
Myrtle Craig Mowbray stands out on this yearbook page as the first Black woman to graduate from MSU in 1907. Mowbray would go on to teach at several high schools, colleges and universities in the Kansas City area before retiring from the faculty at Lincoln University.
Growing up less than 25 miles from campus, Ethel V. Lyon was the first woman granted permission to enroll in engineering in 1932. After graduation, she went on to work as a lighting adviser in the electrical industry in Grand Rapids.
Eva Coryell, third from the left in the back row of this image, was the first woman to graduate from MSU in 1879 with a Bachelor of Science. Here, Coryell is pictured with her classmates in front of the Rock in its original location near the current site of Beaumont Tower. 
This page of a commencement program serves as a historical record of Julia Loomis Matthews, who earned a doctorate in 1930. She was the first woman to receive a doctorate from MSU and just the second student to do so in chemistry.
Known to many as simply Landon Hall, its namesake was the first woman instructor on campus, who also served as a librarian from 1891 to 1932. Linda Landon is credited for facilitating the expansion of the Library, doubling it in size and quadrupling the number of books available for students.
In 1886, Mary Jane Cliff Merrill Carpenter became the first woman to earn a Master of Science at the university. She later became the first female member of the staff as a librarian. 
Myrtle Craig Mowbray stands out on this yearbook page as the first Black woman to graduate from MSU in 1907. Mowbray would go on to teach at several high schools, colleges and universities in the Kansas City area before retiring from the faculty at Lincoln University.
Growing up less than 25 miles from campus, Ethel V. Lyon was the first woman granted permission to enroll in engineering in 1932. After graduation, she went on to work as a lighting adviser in the electrical industry in Grand Rapids.

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These women and many more were featured in a 2021 special exhibit at the MSU Main Library, “Women at MSU: 151 Groundbreaking Years.” Check out the complete collection on the MSU Libraries website.

All images courtesy of Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections.
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