ÁùºÏ±¦µä

March 1, 2023

Dear Wolf Pack Family,

March is Women’s History Month, a time for us to recognize, celebrate and learn more about the achievements of women throughout our history. From almost the very beginning of the history of the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno, there have been women who have played profound roles in the development and success of our institution.

Hannah K. Clapp was one of two faculty members at the University — President LeRoy D. Brown was the other — when the institution first offered college-level instruction in 1887. She served for 14 years, teaching English and history, was the University’s first librarian, and was named one of the 20 outstanding women in ÁùºÏ±¦µä history.

Edna Catlin Baker, an 1895 graduate of the University, was the first woman to be elected to public office in ÁùºÏ±¦µä as a university regent, on Nov. 7, 1916. 

Anne Martin, who was the founder of our Department of History, campaigned as an Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1918 and 1920, and worked to pass women’s suffrage in ÁùºÏ±¦µä.

Stella Mason Parson came to our University from Las Vegas. Her family had originally moved there from Mississippi. She graduated from the University with a degree in English in 1952, becoming the first black woman to ever graduate from college in ÁùºÏ±¦µä. She would go on to have a distinguished 33-year career in education in Clark County and also earned her master’s degree in marriage and family counseling from UNLV. She was able to enroll at the University in 1948 in part due to a $150 scholarship she received from the Las Vegas Chapter of the American Association of University Women.

These are just three of the many stories we celebrate this month. As we celebrate and learn more, it is important to remember that there are countless other women, women from a multitude of diverse backgrounds, who are making our campus all the more successful through their many talents and achievements. Women have strengthened our University from its very inception. Women have had a profound impact on every aspect of life throughout northern ÁùºÏ±¦µä, our state, and our nation.

Exploring the history of women’s rights, and being aware of the issues that women still face today, are just the beginning. We must continue to support women in all that they do, so that their abilities and influence can continue to raise our University and our world to even greater heights.

Go Pack!

Sincere regards,

Brian Sandoval
President