enProvidence College employed women as administrators, staff, and educators long before admitting them as full-time students. This set is comprised of images and documents highlighting just some of the women who have served as staff and faculty at Providence College.
Group portrait of the faculty and staff Women's Liason Committee, 1973-1974. Formed as a support network for female students, the Women's Liason Committee hosted events and provided informal mentorship.
Portrait of Patricia Slonina Vieira. A member of the class of 1975, Vieira was the first woman to edit The Alembic, the Providence College literary magazine. She later worked at the college for more than twenty years.
Sally Thibodeau sits at a registration table with students standing by, ca. 1974. Sally Thibodeau was the first woman hired into an administrative role at Providence College as the assistant dean of freshman in 1971.
Sister Leslie E. Straub, O.P. stands at the front of a classroom. She was an associate professor of anthropology and the first woman faculty member to receive tenure.
Jacqueline Peterson stands speaking at a podium. Peterson served as Advisor to the President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Providence College.
Jane Lunin Perel stands in front of a classroom, ca. 1971. Hired the same year women students were admitted to Providence College, Perel was professor of English and women’s studies. She was the founder of the Women’s Studies Program in 1994, now Women's and Gender Studies Department.
Wanda S. Ingram, Ed.D. '75, stands in an office speaking with two students. Ingram served three decades as academic advisor and undergraduate dean at Providence College. She retired as senior associate dean of student academic success in July 2023.
Portrait of Dr. Jennifer Illuzzi, associate professor of history and former director of the Development of Western Civilization program (fall 2021 - spring 2024).
Sister Bernadine M. Egleston, O.P. works on a large sculpture in the studio. She earned a BA in Art from Providence College in 1972, becoming the first woman to receive an undergraduate degree from the day school.
