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1996 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 98
Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the admission of women to Virginia Tech.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 26, 1996
Agreed to by the Senate, February 1, 1996

WHEREAS, 1996 marks the 75th anniversary of the admission of the first five female students to Virginia Tech, an event that will be commemorated by a weekend of festivities on March 1-3, 1996; and

WHEREAS, of the first five admitted in 1921 to what was then Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, Mary Brumfield, a transfer student, was the first to graduate in 1923, and Ruth Louise Terrett Earle became the first woman to earn a degree in engineering in 1925; and

WHEREAS, in 1944, Radford College became the women's version of Virginia Tech, and it was 20 years later that the two schools separated and the explosion of women at Virginia Tech began; and

WHEREAS, beginning in the late 1960s, large numbers of women were admitted to Virginia Tech, leading to other landmarks such as women being allowed to wear pants on campus (1968), women being admitted to the Corps of Cadets (1973), and the first female class president (1974); and

WHEREAS, with a current enrollment of about 10,000 women, Virginia Tech has changed greatly over the past 75 years, and the history of women at the school will be commemorated by festivities under the theme "Making a World of Difference: Generations of Women Leaders at Virginia Tech"; and

WHEREAS, a major part of the celebration will involve nearly 100 graduates of Virginia Tech, women who have been nominated by Tech faculty for demonstrated leadership and significant contributions while enrolled at Virginia Tech or after graduation; and

WHEREAS, in addition, the Women's Center, an on-campus facility established in 1994 to provide information, referral, support services, advising, educational programming, and advocacy for women and women's issues, will be formally dedicated; and

WHEREAS, on the same weekend in March, Virginia Tech will host the Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball championships and numerous receptions, banquets and entertainment; and

WHEREAS, from modest beginnings 75 years ago, women students at Virginia Tech have become a vital part of the university and of the Commonwealth, and in recent years Virginia Tech has established programs designed to serve the special needs of women students, faculty and staff; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby recognize the 75th anniversary of the admission of women to Virginia Tech; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Patricia B. Hyer, Associate Provost and Chair of the 75th Anniversary Steering Committee, as an expression of the General Assembly's best wishes for a successful, enjoyable and enriching anniversary celebration.