On the Job : Faculty and Administration

Throughout Rider's history, women have played an important role as instructors and administrators. By the 1880s, women were teaching various subjects at Trenton Business College. Georgie T. Freas and Myra Marsh were the College's first female instructors. The Stewart Business College, another precursor to Rider, had its first female adminstrator in 1886. By the end of the 1920s, the ranks of Rider’s women faculty had grown to twenty-five percent. That year, two faculty members, Mary Hooper and Emily Gibbons, were the first women at Rider to attain the title of professor.

1935 saw the establishment of a Women's Department, headed by a Dean of Women, a position that existed until 1963, after Rider's move from Trenton to Lawrenceville in the early 1960s. In the later decades of the 20th century, women have joined the ranks of faculty and administration in greater numbers. Today, women make up almost fifty percent of the faculty.

Ella Stewart Administrator 1890.jpg

Ella Stewart, administrator, 1890.

Agnes Smith Teacher 1904.jpg

Agnes Smith, teacher, 1904.

Bernice Gee, Treasurer early 20th century.jpg

Bernice Gee, treasurer, ca. 1915.

Eleanor Hathaway 1925 teacher training.jpg

Eleanor Hathaway, teacher training, 1925.

Mary Hooper Teacher 1929.jpg

Mary Hooper, first woman at Rider to attain title of Professor, 1929.

Edith Wright Dean of Women 1930s, 40s and 50s.jpg

Edith Wright, Dean of Women, 1930s through 1950s.

Ann R. Shapiro, Professor 1965.jpg

Ann R. Shapiro, English professor, 1965.

Ann Osborn, History Professor 1980s.jpg

Ann Osborn, History professor, 1980s.

Virginia Cyrus, Professor Womens Studies 1989.jpg

Virginia Cyrus, professor, Women's Studies, 1989.

Katherine T Hoff, English Professor 1990s.jpg

Katherine T. Hoff, English professor, 1990s.

On the Job : Faculty and Administration