It's Women's History Month and today we are going to talk about Sarah Parke Morrison, the first woman to be accepted to Indiana University and the first woman to graduate from said institution.
In 1825, when she was just 8 years old, her parents opened Salem Female Seminary and hired all female teachers, which was almost unheard of at the time. After studying there for some time, she set out to further her education at other colleges, including Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in Massachusetts. She graduated there in 1857 and decided to continue her studies at Vassar College in New York where she also taught.
It was during this time that she found a great respect for Robert Dale Owens, a former Indiana Representative for the US House a a social reformer. But because of her fear of reprisal, she kept her ideas secret until a time when he seemed more appropriate. Sarah was aware of the Suffragist Movement and the works of Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone and held a "secret respect" for them.
Her father, Robert, was a former president of the Indiana University Board of Trustees and he offered her $5 to prepare an appeal to the Board in order to be admitted to the university. The board had already been debating on whether or not to admit women and after some time searching through the charter, they found nothing that would bar her from entering the university, so in 1867 she was the first woman admitted to the university. Sarah, however, had little interest in attending Indiana University. She was a highly educated woman with an advanced knowledge of ancient languages, having extensively studied Greek and Latin, and didn't feel that she needed to be the first woman attending Indiana University. Bit the idea of her admittance benefitting the future of women's enrollment - and the aforementioned $5 bribe- won out.
Sarah didn't have the satisfaction of sitting back and watching young women flock to the enrollment season. Not one young women did. None. So, knowing that if she didn't jump into the breach and enroll herself, it would not set an example for other young woman. So, in the Fall of 1867, she became the first women to enroll at Indiana University.
She did so well at her classes, that by the second semester of her first year, she was already considered a sophomore. And then in the Spring of 1868, she watched with satisfaction as a dozen women enrolled in the university's program as freshmen.
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| Sarah Parke Morrison is shown seated in the middle of the bottom row. |
She completed her four year degree in two years and graduated in 1869. Four years later, in 1873 (also noted as being in 1874), she became the first female professor at Indiana University, specializing in English. Unfortunately, during her time at Indiana University, she faced violent discrimination from male students. This didn't stop her, however, and she continued to fight for equality in education and women's rights for educational opportunities. Many male students refuse to cite here work in their essays and papers and also refused to recite her work in their classes. They found her name attached to anything of import to be against their moral principles and were disgraced to have her name on their diplomas. These male students were downright resentful of her presence, to go so far as even to report her to the school claiming that "she had no right to her professorship because she lacked even some shadow of reputation, a few reliable works of recommendation; or at least the outward appearance of an intelligent being". They continued further to say that she barely taught classes and was "pinned to the coat tail of our faculty". These male students bashed her name repeatedly, calling her horrible names and petitioning to have her removed from the university. It is a horrible thing to read, knowing that she was an highly educated women, far more than these students as their article was filled with grammatical and spelling errors. It was clear that they paid no attention to their own lessons.
Unfortunately, because of the hatred and backlash from the male student population, Sarah left her position at Indiana University after the 1874-5 school year. She actually left the academic field alltogether and instead threw herself into the Temperance Movement, traveling throughout the country, including, what was still known then as Indian Country. She spoke to the entire nation about her passions for women's rights and equality.
She never returned to Indiana University to teach, but she did return in 1906 as a student, taking a summer post-graduate course in Greek. And in 1909, she delivered the alumni address to the graduating class.
Sarah never married. During later life, she lived with her sister in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the summer of 1919, there was a fire at the property. Soon after this fire, Sarah suffered a paralytic stroke, believed to have been brought on by the excitement of the fire. She died at the age of 85 on July 9, 1919, at Methodist Hospital and was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana.
In 1942, Indiana University renamed part of the Wells Quad Morrison Hall in her honor and in 2005 the Office of Women's Affairs created the Sarah Parke Morrison Society Scholarship to recruit Indiana women into the computer science program.
SIDE ONE:
Scholar, Reformer and Advocate for women's equal education, Sarah Parke Morrison was born near here in 1833. responding to a petition from Morrison, Indiana University narrowly voted to begin accepting women on equal terms a s men in 1867. Although, she was already a college graduate and teacher, Morrison enrolled at IU and became its first female graduate in 1869.
SIDE TWO:
As Adjunct Professor of English, Morrison became the first female IU faculty member in 1874. She advocated for equal representation of women as IU faculty and administrators. Morrison spoke widely for the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Society of Friends. She continued her studies at IU and authored serval books and poems before her death in 1919.
There is a fantastic article by the Indiana Historical Bureau "Untold Indiana" about her and the hate that she received from male students of the time. Definitely take a look at it. It will be linked in the resources below.
The Indiana University archives have one of her letters on file in which she addresses the Board of Trustees to enquire as to why there are no women on the board. She asks in her letter, "What is the use of so many men?"
Unfortunately, there is little information about Sarah's work with the Society of Friends or the Suffrage Movement. She is best known for her tireless efforts for women's education and her own fight to be recognized as a valued member of the Indiana University Faculty.
Thank you, Sarah, for your work for women's education and equality. Rest in Peace.
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RESOURCES:
Indiana University - IU At a Glance
Indiana Historical Bureau - Sarah Parke Morrison
Indiana Historical Bureau - Untold Indiana - Reluctant Renegade: Sarah Parke Morrison and Women's Equality at Indiana University
Monroe County History Center - Sarah Parke Morrison
Indiana University Archives - Letter to the Board of Trustees
Monroe County Now - She Claimed Three Firsts at Indiana University
Among ourselves: to a mother's memory; being a life story of principally seven generations - Volume 1
