From the women in UVU’s student body to President Astrid S. Tuminez and everywhere in between, women impact all levels of education at UVU.
The earliest Women’s Day observance took place in 1909 in New York City. Two years later, over a million people across Europe protested for women’s right to vote and against employment sex discrimination. These were the roots of both International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. The observance was recognized first as a national week in 1980. In 1987, the commemoration expanded to the entire month of March, largely due to the National Women’s History Alliance’s (NWHA) efforts.
Today, women are an instrumental part of Utah Valley University (UVU). From the women in UVU’s student body to President Astrid S. Tuminez and everywhere in between, women impact all levels of education at UVU. This March, we celebrate and honor the accomplishments of our women Wolverines.
We invite you to join us in celebrating Women’s History Month. Whether you join us for one of the many on-campus events or learn more about women’s history in education, there are countless ways for Wolverines to celebrate women this March.
The Women’s Success Center, Center for Social Impact, Women of UVU, and many other departments across campus are holding events to celebrate Women’s History Month. For more information and a full list of events, visit the Women’s Success Center website.
The Women's Success Center was created in 2011 to address the low enrollment and graduation of women at Utah Valley University. Every year, we see significant improvement as we work toward our mandate to recruit, retain, and graduate female students.
Our programs are designed to help students stay on course and graduate. These programs are designed specifically for women but are available to every student on campus — we welcome everyone who comes through our doors. We firmly believe that diversity is integral to building strong communities and attaining excellence, and we support the university's diversity and inclusion mission.
Women of UVU is a student-run organization supported by the Women's Success Center. Their goal is to help women achieve success and persist toward graduation by providing a supportive, social community and connecting students to the resources they need through weekly drop-in activities and monthly socials. Learn more about Women of UVU.
The Women’s Leadership Academy is a two-semester program beginning each fall that provides participants with knowledge and experience to build and refine their leadership skills through classroom experiences, hands-on leadership, mentorship, and coaching. Students can take part in the cohort experience or as peer mentors. Apply for the Women’s Leadership Academy today.
Every year, the NWHA chooses a theme for Women’s History Month. The 2023 theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” At UVU, we believe that education is, at its core, storytelling. The stories and knowledge taught in classrooms expand students’ understanding of the world around us and inform how students interact with their communities and their work after graduation.
By learning about women’s history, we are listening to women’s stories. Women’s impact in education allows us to pass knowledge down to the next generation of learners, teaching and empowering more women to tell their stories. Join us in commemorating Women’s History Month by exploring women’s history in education.
1772: Salem College established
Salem Academy and College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, began as a school for young girls. Today, Salem College is the oldest educational institution for girls and women in the U.S.
1870: First woman votes in the U.S.
Fifty years before the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote, Seraph Young Ford voted in the Utah Territory. Ford was a schoolteacher who cast her vote in Salt Lake City on her way to work.
1871: First female college president in the U.S.
Frances Elizabeth Willard was named president of Evanston College for Ladies when the school was founded in 1871. She was the first woman to serve as a college president in the U.S.
1904: Utah’s first female full professor
Maud May Babcock was one of the first women to teach at a higher education institution in Utah when she joined the University of Utah in 1892. She was promoted to a full professor in 1904, making her the first female professor in the state.
1972: Title IX passed
Title IX is a federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination against any person in a federally funded educational program.
1981-1982: More bachelor's degrees granted to women
For the first time in the U.S., more bachelor’s degrees were conferred on women than on men. Women have been awarded more bachelor’s degrees every year since.
1995: Utah’s first woman college president
In 1995, Dr. Peggy Stock became the 15th president of Westminster College in Salt Lake City. She was the first woman to lead a higher education institution in Utah.
2018: Astrid S. Tuminez becomes UVU's seventh president
President Tuminez was appointed as Utah Valley University’s president in 2018. She is the first woman to serve in the position.
2022: More women enrolled at UVU than men
As of fall 2022, UVU has more women students enrolled than men students. This is the first time more women have been enrolled in the university’s history.
