Teri Miller ’69 and Dr. Sharon Schneeberger, a former Stephens College education professor, set up a table in Stamper Commons this past November to help students register to vote — and remind them to show up at the polls on election day. The women represented Columbia’s League of Women Voters, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in December. The chapter was established just after the 19th Amendment, establishing women’s right to vote, was passed by the United States Congress.
Miller was a women’s studies major at Stephens at a time when very few schools in the country offered the program. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and her master’s degree in special education from the University of Michigan. Miller taught as a special education teacher for 33 years. She’s lived in Los Angeles, western North Carolina and Missouri, advocating for women’s rights wherever she goes.
Miller’s studies at Stephens validated for her that women’s rights are essential and, she said, that “how we got them is an amazing story. The honor and responsibility we have to vote is just the best gift.”
Miller has been active with the League of Women Voters since she was a child and her mother was the Kansas City chapter co-president. Now, Miller is the Columbia chapter’s chair of the Equal Rights Amendment committee, a committee she established when she joined the organization. She also serves as the state league’s point person on ERA legislation.
“We’ve got to get the Equal Rights Amendment ratified,” she said. “I’d like to have the Show-Me State show them how it’s done.” She also encouraged students and the Columbia community to visit the special exhibit “She Got the Vote” at the Boone County History and Culture Center through September 2020.
Miller’s message for Stephens students: “Be aware of who you are, take advantage of your education and participate in the benefits you have. VOTE!”