In honor of Women’s History Month, we take a brief look at what some first ladies have done for the university.
Walking through campus, students can see the names of former Ohio University presidents everywhere, from Alden Library to Robert Glidden Hall.
Not only are the legacies of the leading men of the university preserved, but also their spouses’. Claire Ping and Elizabeth Baker, for example, are immortalized through the Claire Oates Ping Cottage and Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater in Kantner Hall.
A woman has never been president of OU. This is the case at only two public universities in Ohio, with the other being the University of Toledo.
There has been at least one female candidate for OU’s presidency.
Carol Harter was a presidential finalist in 2004 after spending 19 years at OU as a faculty member, ombudswoman, vice president and dean of students and vice president for administration. She ended up as the president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas from 1995 until 2006.
Even though a woman hasn’t been in the top position at the university, that doesn’t mean they haven’t made an impact.
“To me, being first lady means being a partner to the president and making sure that the president’s mission and initiatives are carried out,” said Deborah McDavis, OU’s current first lady. “It’s a magnanimous position and very special. In addition to being the partner, co-worker and supporter of the president’s mission, it’s also someone that acts as an ambassador of the university.”
McDavis is the first to hold the official title of first lady at the university, as she is the first to receive a salary as part of the position. The official definition of first lady only applies to the spouse of the president of the United States or a governor.
As events on campus celebrate March as Women’s History Month, the work accomplished by the high-profile spouses of presidents can be seen today in the establishment of programs in the College of Fine Arts to the preservation of local infrastructure.
The historical role of the president’s spouse
The president’s spouse tends to design her own role, said Bill Kimok, the university archivist.
“Some were involved with fundraising and others were involved with local arts,” he said. “They carve out their own niche and figure out what makes them comfortable.”
A common role has been to entertain guests and represent the university as an ambassador, but each woman approaches the job differently, McDavis said.
“There are those who tackled political issues like voting rights and women's rights and domestic violence ... and there are those who built libraries and annexes and have been involved with establishing new buildings on campus,” she said.
McDavis enjoys building relationships with students.
“A lot of folks may not know that there are students that come over and have coffee or lunch with me,” she said. “It replaces not being in the classroom, and to me, it adds the familial notion of what it means to run a university.”
Kathryn Dix Sowle, wife of 16th OU president Claude R. Sowle, said the president’s spouse would be a salaried position in 10 or 15 years, according to a 1973 Post report.
It took 32 years, but McDavis became the first in OU’s history to receive a salary in 2005. In August 2014, OU’s Board of Trustees raised the McDavis’ salaries. Deborah’s was raised from $31,200 to $35,000 and Roderick’s base salary increased to $465,000.
Not all spouses of presidents at public universities in Ohio are paid.
Some first ladies continue to work in their former careers, such as Tammy Scarborough from the University of Akron, who holds a full-time position at a hospital system in the city.
There are two current male spouses of university presidents for Ohio universities. Shawnee State University and Central State University both have female presidents who are married. Kent State's president is female, and unmarried.
Elizabeth Baker, 1945-1961
Elizabeth and her husband, John C. Baker, the 14th president of Ohio University, was the first presidential couple to move into the President’s House at 29 Park Place.
In transcripts of John’s oral history, Elizabeth described herself as a housekeeper and often entertained visitors and hosted parties for faculty members.
Elizabeth enjoyed the theater, a passion that led her to purchase the Monomoy Theater in Chatham, Massachusetts, with her own money in 1958.
The theater was leased by OU until last year, citing academic and economic reasons for dropping the lease, according to a previous Post report.
John also said Elizabeth urged him to hire more women at the university. She also suggested turning Bird Arena, which was originally constructed as a multipurpose athletics center, into a skating rink when it was deemed unfit for all athletic teams to practice there. She also planted the first dogwood trees that line the university’s main gateway.
“I just can’t go too far into expressing my appreciation at what she meant to me,” John said of his wife in his oral history. “She and I felt the same way: that this university ought to head in the right direction and ought to go somewhere, become a distinguished institution.”
Marion Alden, 1962-1969
Marion Alden was interested in both fashion and interior design growing up and was working at an interior design studio in Evanston, Illinois, before meeting Vernon Alden, who would later become the 15th president of OU.
Marion refurbished the home upon trustees’ request. She also did private consulting jobs, but the responsibilities that came in addition to those at OU became too much.
She managed the entertainment for 3,500 to 4,000 people a year, including a visit from Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s. She also participated in official meetings at the house and helped with recruitment and fundraising.
In an interview with Marion in Vernon’s oral history, Marion said she saw the first ladyship “as a chance to be a real partner with Vern” and work as a team to better the university.
She was later involved with the Kennedy Museum Board as the Kennedy Museum of Art was being planned. She was also involved with the implementation of OU’s School of Interior Design, now known as Interior Architecture.
Kathryn Dix Sowle, 1969-1974
Katie graduated first in her class from the law school at Northwestern University. Her husband, Claude Sowle, was second.
When Claude became the 16th OU president, the family moved to Athens and Katie left her job as an attorney and taught communication law classes.
Katie said entertaining was the most important aspect of a president spouse’s job, and she believed in creating personal relationships with students and faculty, according to an article from The Athens Messenger.
She was also largely involved in women’s rights and spoke about discrimination against women in education in a speech to the Faculty Wives Club in 1972.
“Women’s lib does not mean that women have to go work, I think it means more of a freedom of choice,” she responded when asked what was wrong with being a housewife.
Claire Ping, 1975-1994
Claire Ping entertained more than 45,000 guests in the home she shared with Charles Ping, OU’s 18th president.
One of Claire’s projects was refurbishing a guest home, later renamed the Claire Oates Ping Cottage by the Alumni Foundation in 1994.
Claire was also active in beautifying campus — Campus Green was named a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places because of her efforts.
She was actively involved with various OU organizations, including the Konneker Alumni Center and the OU Women’s Club. She founded the Athens Foundation Inc., a local nonprofit, with seven other women, which emerged from Community Scope, a now-defunct service organization.
“It was one of her many projects to bring ‘town and gown’ together, which is what she devoted her 20 years as first lady to doing,” said Susan Urano, the executive director of the Athens Foundation.
Urano first met Claire when she was working at the Dairy Barn, which Claire was involved with, and considers her a mentor.
“She had a fabulous way of getting people to volunteer to do work,” she said. “You couldn’t say no because you felt honored to be asked.”
Charles awarded his wife a degree from OU during the 1994 commencement in honor of the work she had done to protect the land at The Ridges and keeping Court Street looking nice.
Rene Glidden, 1994-2004
Rene Glidden was an artist, and she promoted art throughout campus and Athens.
When Rene and her husband Robert Glidden, the 19th OU president, moved into the President’s House, Rene redecorated the home, commissioning murals and creating a studio in the basement so she could work on her art.
“It was fun to go over there and see the beautiful job she had done with the home,” Urano said.
She led an effort to reclaim a building at The Ridges for a child-care center, and she supported the continued development of the Kennedy Museum of Art.
She was also appointed to the Ohio Humanities Council by Gov. George Voinovich.
Rene had been a librarian, tutor and pottery teacher. She was involved in multiple organizations, including the Athens Garden Club, Friends of the Kennedy Museum and the board of Community Design Inc.
Deborah McDavis, 2004-present
Deborah, wife to Roderick McDavis, OU’s 20th president, said she never expected to be in this position, though it has been a positive experience.
“My career ended as a college English instructor when I became first lady, but that ended by choice,” she said. “I didn’t think I could enter into a position I didn't know while maintaining my English career.”
Though she decided to stop teaching English, she was asked to speak to an introductory class and teach a grammar course.
“It was a good feeling getting back into the classroom, but those days are over,” she said. “I’ve never lost my love for teaching and the English language.”
She has served on a number of boards, her favorite, she said, being a board with the health recovery service that was established to help deal with mental health and drug and alcohol abuse issues.
“It’s a fascinating life,” she said.
@thisisjelli
ao007510@ohio.edu
