1940-1949

Poster photographed from the back of a streetcar, advertising war training classes at the Norfolk Division of William and Mary and Virginia Polytechnic Institute, circa 1941-1945. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.

1941-1945: During World War II, the Norfolk Division offers free classes for women to help with the war effort

1942: Dorothy Lucker joins the faculty as the first permanent female professor with a Ph.D. (assistant professor of English)

1943: Margaret Casto Phillips becomes the first known female faculty member to teach Physics courses (instructor in Math and Physics)

1944: Mildred Mason Giffith and Peggy Woodson Ashody join the faculty as the first female instructors in Biology

Foreign Relations Club Group Photo, circa 1945-1946. Source: Voyager, 1946, Special Collections and University Archives.

1945: Student organizations geared toward international studies start to emerge on campus including the Foreign Relations Club, Greek Club, and the Spanish Club

1945: Ethel B. Jones joins the faculty as the first female instructor in Business (Retail Training). M. Paula Mallery becomes the first known female department head as she leads the newly created Art Department

1945: To aid students returning to school after World War II, the Norfolk Division hires Anne Elizabeth Ball, Psychometrist, and Barbara Ann Phillips, Psychologist

Marie C. Arrieta (center), shown with Mr. Thayer and Mr. Parks, circa 1948. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.

1946: Maria C. Arrieta, who received her B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, becomes the first known Hispanic faculty member at the Norfolk Division of William & Mary

1946: Elizabeth Dalby Parkes joins the faculty as an instructor in Graphics

1946: Jane Elizabeth Atkinson and Lucy McGavock Harvie join the faculty as the first female instructors in Chemistry

Phillip Lee Yearbook Photo, 1947. Source: Voyager, 1947, Special Collections and University Archives.

June 1947: Phillip Lee becomes the first known student of Asian descent to graduate from the Norfolk Division of William & Mary

1947: Flossie Amelia Ratcliffe, who joined the faculty in 1941, becomes associate professor of Secretarial Science