Famous Alumnae of Women's Colleges
Gloria Steinem, Martha Stewart, and Hillary Clinton share educational background
Agnes Scott College
- Jean Toal—First female chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court
- Katherine "Kay" Krill—CEO of Ann Taylor Stores Corp.
- Jennifer Nettles—Grammy Award-winning country singer
Barnard College
- Anna Quindlen—Author
- Martha Stewart—Entrepreneur
Bryn Mawr College
- Katherine Hepburn—Academy Award-winning actress
- Drew Gilpin Faust—First female president of Harvard University
- Nettie Stevens—Geneticist who discovered that X and Y chromosomes determine sex
Cedar Crest College
- Judith McGrath—Chairwoman and CEO of MTV Networks
- Andrea Joel—Emmy Award-winning set designer
College of Notre Dame of Maryland
- Elizabeth Hoisington—First female to attain the rank of brigadier general of the U.S. Army
- Eileen O'Neill—President and general manager of TLC
College of St. Benedict
- Helen Meyer—Minnesota Supreme Court associate justice
- LeAnne Matthews Stewart—Senior vice president and CFO of Nash Finch Co.
Converse College
- Julia Mood Peterkin—Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in literature
- Harriet Smith O'Neill—Texas Supreme Court justice
Hollins University
- Natasha Trethewey—Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in poetry
- Ann Compton—ABC News White House correspondent
Meredith College
- Beth Leavel—Tony Award-winning Broadway actress
- Silda Wall Spitzer—Founder of Children for Children
Mount Holyoke College
- Priscilla Painton—Former deputy managing editor of Time
- Suzan-Lori Parks—Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
Simmons College
- Gwen Ifill—Managing editor of Washington Week on PBS
- Allyson Schwartz—U.S. congresswoman representing Pennsylvania's 13th District
Smith College
- Gloria Steinem—Women's rights activist and author
- Betty Friedan—Author of The Femini ne Mystique
- Julia Child—Chef and author
Spelman College
- Jerri Devard—Verizon Communications executive
- Marian Wright Edelman—Founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund
Trinity Washington University
- Nancy Pelosi—Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Kathleen Sebelius—Governor of Kansas, nominee to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Wellesley College
- Madeleine Albright—First female U.S. secretary of state
- Hillary Clinton—Current U.S. secretary of state
- Pamela Melroy—NASA astronaut
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Bennett College Alumnae
Bennett College is a four-year liberal arts women's college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Founded in 1873, this historically black institution began as a normal school to provide education to newly emancipated slaves. It became a women's college in 1926 and currently serves roughly 600 undergraduates.
A Few Famous Alumnae:
Dr. Glendora M. Putman, the first African-American women to serve as National President of the YWCA
Dr. Dorothy L. Brown, the first African American general surgeon in the south and to serve on the Tennessee State Legislature.
Yvonne J. Johnson, the first black mayor of Greensboro, NC
Faye Robinson, Opera Singer
Barbara Hamm, the first African-American woman to serve as a television news director in the United States
Dr. Linda B. Brown, author and professor of English at Bennett College
Belinda Foster, the first African American District Attorney in North Carolina
Saint Mary's College (Notre Dame, IN)
Founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Saint Mary's College continues to grow and prosper, with approximately 18,000 living alumnae. A few notable alumnae include:
Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen ‘66, MD, the first female physician in the history of the U.S. Congress, the first woman to represent an offshore Territory, and the first woman Delegate from the United States Virgin Islands
Adriana Trigiani ’81, the award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker and bestselling author of the Big Stone Gap trilogy
Susan P. Peters ’75, Girl Scouts Board of Directors, vice president of executive development for GE (General Electric), executive vice president of human resources for NBC
Judith N. Keep
Hon. Judith N. Keep - first female Chief Judge of the southern district of California (as well as the first female judge on that court). She received her B.A. degree in Humanities and Literature from Scripps College, and served as a federal judge for the Southern District of California. She served as Chief District Judge of the Southern District from 1991 to 1998, and chaired the Conference of Chief District Judges in 1997. Nominated by President Jimmy Carter, Judge Keep came onto the federal bench in 1980. She was the first female federal judge in her district and its first female chief judge.
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