2008 Opening Convocation
Stephens College held its annual Opening Convocation
on Thursday, Sept. 4 in the Kimball Ballroom of Lela Raney Wood Hall.
Stephens students, faculty, administrators and staff gathered for the
event to welcome in the new academic year.
"My time at Stephens gave me the confidence in myself as a person
and the power to chart my own course and not be bound by what someone
else thought."
— Keynote speaker Vice Admiral Nancy E. Brown '73, one of
the top-ranking female officers in the U.S. Navy
Below are the words of several of the speakers.
Wendy B. Libby :: Kat
Thomas '09 :: Catherine Withrow '05 ::
Vice Admiral Nancy E. Brown '73
Wendy B. Libby,
Ph.D., Stephens College president
Welcome to the 2008 Opening Convocation and
a new academic year at Stephens College! Today we gather ceremoniously
to celebrate Stephens’ rich 175 years of history and to look forward
to the many opportunities that await us as a college and as individuals.
And because we are an educational institution, I ask that you indulge me as I share a history lesson (a Cliff’s Notes version) with help from John Crighton, who authored a book called “Stephens.” It has to do with our history as well as our future, the evolution of women and of Stephens, and it hopefully gives you some insight into our keynote speaker. The test you take afterward is called “Life.”
If you were a Stephens Woman 175 years ago, Lucy Wales
would have been standing before you…our first preceptress of the
“Columbia Female Academy” as we were known. Massachusetts
born, Miss Wales became the first woman to deliver a public address
in Columbia.
Sounds odd now, doesn’t it, that label? But remember that women
didn’t get the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was passed
in 1920—almost a century later.
In 1833, Columbia had a population of 700. It was a frontier town. Think livery stables, taverns and silversmiths! Hoop skirts and corsets! Missouri had just become a part of the United States in 1821 (12 years earlier), and was the furthest most western state (until Texas achieved statehood in 1845). The Columbia Female Academy was established as a school where leading businessmen could educate their daughters – who were destined for positions of social responsibility.
At the Columbia Female Academy, enrollment was limited
to 25 students. Tuition? $10 a term – steep in those days. The
first session began in the newly erected Presbyterian Church. Subjects
included mental and written arithmetic, “improvement of the mind,”
botany, chemistry, rhetoric, logic, human physiology and Sullivan’s
political class book. Surprising?
Even then, Stephens was a bit “sassy.” Miss Wales was well-respected
to be sure, but she still took her students to the Boone County Fair
on a field trip, a quite objectionable place for “young ladies,”
given the drinking and gambling! She also accompanied her students to
the courthouse square to hear political speeches.
Even then, Stephens College was ahead of her time. Stephens’ educational philosophy involved the development of values, the training of intellectual discipline and critical thinking, and the acquisition of functional knowledge and facts. Practical and relevant even then.
Students at the time earned “Mrs. Degrees”: most Academy graduates married and became partners of merchants and professional men. They managed households with many servants, raised and educated their large families and were organized hostesses at countless social events. (Think about the skills involved!)
Through the decades, Stephens educated the quintessential women of each era in whatever ways women and society demanded.
In the 1920s:
• Stephens Women studied, for example, communication, the humanities
(Louise Dudley set a national standard), citizenship and consumer problems.
• Stephens established:
• an equestrian riding academy
• and a kindergarten-nursery school,
• and set up what would later become KWWC-FM.
• The majority of students married within five
years of graduation. Unmarried professional women were largely teachers
at this time.
• New “findings” courses allowed women to explore
vocations, and included costume design, dietetics, home management and
nursing.
• “Clinics” like Personal Grooming and Clothing were
designed to improve mental health (not turn out glamour girls). The
focus was on developing the well-rounded woman.
By the 1940s (WWII):
• Stephens was teaching a very popular course called Marriage
and the Family.
• The College launched an aviation program (under the sponsorship
of 11 of the nation’s leading airlines)
• And had recruited the famous Maude Adams to teach drama.
By the 1950s:
• TV industry training turned out actresses,
• Dance moved from being a P.E. elective to professional status
under the renowned Harriette Ann Gray
• And 5 of the 10 best selling Butterick patterns of the time
were “Susie Stephens” styles. Women were going places…outside
the home.
Most of Stephens’ offerings to this point were at the junior college level. In the 1960s, women began earning “advanced degrees”: BAs and BFAs from Stephens.
Across the country and into the next decade, the Women’s Liberation Movement was underway. Women burned bras, wore miniskirts, protested the Miss American pageant, spoke out for their reproductive rights, and started entering the workforce in greater numbers. Childcare became an issue. They typically faced a choice between having a family and having a career.
The change could be felt at Stephens. Students studied Contemporary Social Issues and became politically active. The women’s studies program was developed.
And, in the decades that followed, women began to
find the freedom to develop their own identities. Career and family
were less of polar opposites. Women found ways to do both…or either.
They went up in space; got loans to start their own businesses; and
moved into leadership positions. The pay gap between men and women,
while still gaping, narrowed.
This evolution – from 1833 to 2008 – of women in society
is remarkable when you think about it. Sadly, it’s most remarkable
because it took entirely too long in coming and the battle was hard-won.
Only now, in the 2008 presidential election, are women undeniably at
center stage.
I tell you this for three reasons, as this 175-year-old sassy institution celebrates yet another academic year:
One-you are too young (I don’t mean that negatively)
to remember the Women’s Rights Movement, glass ceilings and what
it feels like to be immersed in rampant gender discrimination at every
turn.
Having a firm understanding of your history helps you to secure your
future.
Two-the story of women’s evolution parallels
that of Stephens’ evolution. It is by beautiful design that Stephens
has always been cutting-edge in its approach to educating women.
We must always think about how we must adapt so that Stephens remains
relevant to women. We must always think about strategy so that we are
never stale.
Toward that end, this year, the entire Stephens community will be focused
on strategic planning: what should Stephens look like in the next 5-10
years? How can it best prepare its students for the career and life
paths way before them? These are questions that have helped define Stephens
over the past 175 years.
You are here at a remarkable time in our history, when you can help transform Stephens in truly meaningful ways, so I encourage you to be involved in this process. We’ll share more with you in the next couple of weeks.
And the third reason for the history lesson:
Vice Admiral Nancy Brown. So when I tell you she is a top-ranking female
in the US Navy, that she worked her way up the military ranks, you have
a more profound appreciation for what this means. Not an easy achievement,
but well worth the journey.
After the keynote address, we will sing the Stephens Hymn, and then enjoy birthday cake to celebrate our history and new beginnings. For an extra credit history lesson, be sure to check out Macey Lounge, where you can walk back in time and see a bit of Stephens history.
But first, I am pleased to introduce Katherine
Thomas, president of the Student Government Association.
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Kat Thomas '09, Student
Government Association president
Hello. On behalf of SGA, I would like
to welcome you to the 2008-2009 school year. We’ve been here for
almost two weeks now and survived. I think that deserves a round of
applause.
Convocation is a special time. It allows us the opportunity to invite
an alum and see the impact Stephens has had on her as well as give us
an indication of this institution’s history and evolution.
...Evolution and change, more specifically change, seem to be the buzzwords
lately. I mean socially. Politically. And I don’t believe this
mindset is a bad thing. In fact, it’s the foundation of SGA…the
idea that students can affect change upon this campus. It’s so
easy to do just by engaging in a simple activity such as voting. Our
elections are today. Here’s a simple way to incite some change
on this campus, so vote.
You know, at the risk of sounding cliché, change is inevitable,
but it doesn’t always come in the overwhelming, knock you upside
the head way, but rather change provides us with the opportunity to
learn and therefore grow. Then we can apply that knowledge and understanding
to the world around us.
This is my fourth convocation to attend. Yes, I’m a Stephens junkie.
Anyway, I think about the girl I was at my first convocation, sitting
in the top left hand corner of Windsor Auditorium. Seriously, I was
hanging on every word the alum said. And I just sat there the whole
time thinking, “I want to be like that one day.” I want
to be that successful, I want to be that motivated, I want to love this
school as much as she does.
It’s my final year here. I realized sometime at the beginning
of this year and definitely when I was writing this that I am like that
alum, and so is every of other woman, and our few good men, at this
school. Or at least they will be someday.
I firmly believe Stephens gives you the necessary skills to conduct
you actions and express your thought with a sense of purpose. And that
purpose pushes beyond the point where failure is never truly an option.
Don’t get me wrong. There will be those days that don’t
go as planned or you may not have quite reached that goal, but you will
have the drive and the ambition to try again.
Also, Stephens helps you develop the insight to discover and articulate
the authenticity of your intentions and the vision for you life in the
professional, public and private spheres.
But most of all, this institution compels you to take everything you
have learned both in academics and your personal life, and apply it
to not only your life but the lives of those around you. Ultimately,
bettering this world we live in.
Again, going to sound a bit cliché, but the world is changing
every second on us. And we must decide as individuals, as a community,
as women where we stand in the world and what are going to do about
the issues that face us. That’s where I think Stephens will help
us out through the knowledge we gained during our time here.
But now, I would just like to say welcome back once again. The weather
is pretty yucky outside, but I hope everyone has a wonderful day. And,
since we are so close to the weekend, please have fun, be safe, and
make good choices. Thank you.
Catherine
Withrow '05, Instructor, Liberal Arts and Spanish
My privilege today is to introduce a very
special woman with a remarkable life story,
A story that began …
• Before become Vice Admiral and Director of Command, Control,
Communication and Computer systems, the Joint Staff
• Before deploying to Iraq
• Before serving as Deputy Director at the White House Military
Office
• Before earning two Masters degrees
• Before Serving in Japan
Before all of this… She was a Stephens woman. An education major
who….
And while her specific history, is unique,
and remarkable and esteemed in its own right (and I encourage you to
read more of the details in your program), it is not a story that should
surprise us --- because if we take her story and generalize it, we see
a woman who has explored her country, her world, and her career to its
fullest, who has excelled in the goals she set for herself, who has
broken barriers, and who has earned the highest respect from her peers.
This is the story of a Stephens woman. It’s your story. And mine.
And as a fellow Stephens woman, I am proud to be in her company, and
even prouder to introduce her to you: Please welcome Vice Admiral Nancy
Brown.
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Nancy E. Brown '73, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy
President Libby, distinguished faculty and staff, friends, family and students. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be here this morning and grateful for the opportunity to speak at your convocation ceremony.
It is almost impossible for me to believe that it was 38 years ago when I sat at a very similar event. What I remember is the wild spectrum of emotions that I was feeling, from fear to joy to anticipation, and looking around the audience all I could wonder is how will I ever fit in with all these talented and bright women?
Growing up in a small, southern Illinois town and being one of only a handful of fellow graduates who went on to college and one of only about five who actually left home to do so, this was the first time I had ever been on my own. I was at the same time excited, yet intimidated.
After all, I grew up in a time when women got married, had kids and if you had to work you were a secretary, a teacher or a nurse. It was the beginning of the decade referred to as the ’70s, a decade marked by social progressive values, anti-war, the drug culture, the women’s movement and race issues. Vietnam was raging and 1970 saw Kent State, where an anti-war protest turned fatal and four students were killed by the Ohio National Guard; the Beatles released their 12th and final album, “Let It Be”; Doonesbury debuted; and the North tower of the World Trade Center was completed, becoming the tallest building in the world. It was the year of bellbottoms, platform shoes and white leisure suits; disco was the rage; and streaking was the fad.
So why did I choose Stephens? The school had a great reputation academically, it was far enough away from my home that commuting was not an option, and my parents were very pleased that it was an all-girl environment (I don’t think they realized how accessible the University of Missouri boys were).
So here I am small-town girl from a very conservative household, set free in Columbia, Missouri. Now the Stephens I entered was a much different institution than the one you are entering. Just as our country was going through a social revolution, so was Stephens. My first year there was no commons but small dining halls where you were shown to a table, stood till you were given permission to sit and served family style. For dinner you had to wear heels and nylons; I don’t think I ate dinner that entire year. We also had bed checks in the evening. But all that was changing and by my second year the commons was open with cafeteria style dining with a very relaxed dress code; in fact, most students began to mirror what was seen across the country: bellbottom jeans and T-shirts.
The other significant change was the impact that life at Stephens was having on me. The classes and instructors were, as I am sure they are today, fantastic, small classes with very individualized attention, but I think it was outside of the classroom that had the most lasting and life-shaping impact. Being surrounded by other women who were intelligent, motivated, enthusiastic and ready to conquer the world opened my eyes to possibilities for my life that I had never before considered. I realized that it was up to me to choose my path and dare to dream. Marriage, family and fitting the traditional model were not the only future available but I could literally be anything I was willing to work hard enough to be.
My time at Stephens gave me the confidence in myself as a person and the power to chart my own course and not be bound by what someone else thought.
President Libby, in a recent article in the Columbia Tribune, captures this when she writes, “Among all the emotions swirling about, the most unsettling one is the fear arising from the ambiguity ahead, that feeling of having the world before you, where anything is possible, but being unsure of all the options. Your life is a blank page, an empty stage, waiting for you to shape your future. You merely have to start somewhere, recognizing the drafts and rehearsals for what they are as you stand on the threshold of something yet to be imagined.”
So, as I look back on what I have written on that page, I ask myself what, if anything, would I change? I always come to the same conclusion that Stephens was the right choice for me and I truly believe that had I taken another path my life would have been radically different. It was here that I learned that life was not a spectator sport but that I held the keys to success and I alone had to chart my own course. It was here that I discovered that I could get out of my comfort zone and be successful and it was here that I learned to challenge things and not just accept the way things have always been done. I graduated with the expectation and the belief that the sky was the limit; now that doesn’t mean my future became crystal clear and I knew what my dream was, far from it. I faced a few hurdles as I struggled to get started. After graduation, I languished for a couple of months trying to discover what I did want to do until one day my dad suggested I join the Navy; now no one I knew was in the service. I had no idea what being the service meant; talk about getting out of your comfort zone. But I decided to look into it, so I went to see the Navy recruiter who after a short discussion about Navy life told me the Navy would never take anyone like me; well, that answer was not acceptable, challenge things, so I took an application and here I am one of the most senior women in the Navy today and one of only three that have ever reached this position.
I credit Stephens as having been key to my success. Studies show that women in all-female environments participate more in class, take on more leadership roles, and are more likely to succeed in traditionally male fields. I don’t think I could have found a more male-dominated environment than the Navy. When I began my Navy career in 1974. there were no women at sea or assigned to a unit that deployed, women had only recently been integrated with equalized promotions, command ashore had just been opened, women made up only 3% of the force and there were no women admirals.
In the 30 odd years since then, women make up over 15% of the force, women are not only assigned to units that deploy and at sea but they are commanding those units, flying combat missions and sharing the dangers of the frontline; there are 27 women admirals including 2 three stars; women in the Navy today are simply sailors with the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
Are we where we should be? No, there are still barriers to overcome but the progress has been remarkable. While those of us that have been around to witness the changes still marvel at the opportunities that are available, those that have benefited see it as routine.
I think this quote from a young female aviator flying combat missions over Afghanistan sums it up, “I’ve never thought that it was a big deal that I was an aviator. I just go out there and do my job.” What a powerful statement and reflective of the opportunities that a woman in the Navy experiences today and it also provides some very simple advice for success in today’s work place. Go out there and do the very best you can. Become the go to person and don’t just do what is expected but go the extra step; transition from a doer to a leader. Don’t be afraid to make decisions— you want to be known as someone that makes things happen and gets the job done. Be a leader in your organization and the expert at what you do. You need to decide what you want to achieve, then plot your course. Without a plan, you might never reach your goal. We all have to have a plan of action if we want to ensure that we will accomplish what we want in life; remember it is the journey, not the destination.
While my journey was in the Navy I believe that other Stephens graduates, regardless of the field, have had very similar experiences as opportunities for women in every board room have dramatically increased. When I look back at my journey, it has taken me from small-town girl to live in places I would never have imagined from San Diego CA; Norfolk, VA; Kami Seya Japan; Monterey, CA; Belleville, IL; Cutler, ME; Newport, RI, and Baghdad, Iraq. I have traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Pacific. I have experienced great opportunity and jobs that gave me responsibility and authority that I would have never experienced in any other profession. I have witnessed historic events and been a participant from two different assignments at the White House, from being at the Pentagon on the morning of Sept 11, 2001, to having been the first Director of Information Technology for the Multi National Force in Iraq and witnessing the first free election in January 2005. And now, I hold the position of the most senior military information technology professional in the entire Department of Defense. From not accepting the answer that the Navy won’t take someone like me to beating the odds and making admiral in a male-dominated work force.
My advice to you: get out of your comfort zone, take risks, you may find your passion in a very different area than you had imagined. Challenge the status quo and the why and how of things; never accept we don’t want someone like you. Dare to dream.
Stephens shaped my journey and when you look
back at your time here I know that you will share that feeling. I am
proud to be a Stephens Woman.
