Women's History Month
St. Philip's College is celebrating Women's History Month (WHM) beginning March 1, 2025. The 2025 WHM schedule features events for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the community. The programs and events strive to motivate, inspire, and enlighten the SPC community in honor of National Women's History Month.
About Women's History Month
Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields. [http://womenshistorymonth.gov/]
The National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA) proudly established March as National Women’s History Month, ensuring diverse women’s voices and contributions are recognized and celebrated. Since 1980, when NWHA (then the National Women’s History Project) successfully advocated for the recognition of Women’s History Week, we have been amplifying the stories of all women who shaped history. In 1981, Congress passed a resolution officially establishing the week, with President Jimmy Carter issuing a proclamation. By 1987, NWHA’s continued efforts led Congress to expand the recognition to the entire month of March, creating the National Women’s History Month we honor today. [http://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/]
Women's History Month Kickoff Video
Women's History Month Events
Trailblazing Texas: Female Educators Who Have Impacted Today’s Society
Date: March 4, 2025
Time: 12:30 P.M.-1:30 P.M.
Location: Clarence Windzell Norris (CWN), 413 (INRW Center)
Description: In this event, students from the SPCH 1311: Introduction to Speech Communication course will recite speeches from famous female educators in Texas. Join us as we learn about the rich history and contributions these women made to the State.
Staging Liberation: A Conversation with Miranda Gonzalez
Date: March 6, 2025
Time: 12:15 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.
Location: Center for Advocacy and Student Empowerment (CASE), 103
Description: Join us as we explore the intersections of history, culture, and identity through film and storytelling. Miranda Gonzalez, a Black Mexican American playwright, director, and producer from Chicago, will be facilitating a conversation on the role of theater and art in the representation of the African American and Mexican American experience.
Empowering Women Through Education: The Founding of Vassar College
Date: March 18, 2025
Time: 11:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.
Location: Turbon Student Center (TSC), 216
Description: Vassar College, founded in 1861, was the first college for women in the United States. Its goal was to provide women with a rigorous academic curriculum equivalent to what was offered at men's colleges. This lecture will explore the establishment of Vassar College through the work of its founder, Matthew Vassar, and his ardent supporter, Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Godey's Ladies Book. Together, they helped to legitimize the idea of higher education for women in a time when such notions were controversial.
“Why Art is Magic?”
Date: March 18, 2025
Time/Location:
- 9:15 A.M. - 10:30 A.M., Clarence Windzell Norris (CWN), 313
- 10:45 A.M. - 12:00 P.M., Clarence Windzell Norris (CWN), 316
Description: Internationally acclaimed Swiss-American author and illustrator Veronique Hahn will share compelling tales about her life and work and read passages from some of her most delightful children's books.
“My Life on 80 Acres: Raising the Next Generation of Female Farmers”
Date: March 19, 2025
Time/Location:
- 10:45 A.M.-12:00 P.M., Clarence Windzell Norris (CWN), 316
- 1:45 P.M.-3:00 P.M., Clarence Windzell Norris (CWN), 216
Description: Farmer and College Faculty Member Spencer Key-Galvan details how she raises children, plants crops, and tends livestock on her inherited Texas country homestead, while also teaching Humanities and Foreign Language classes at a nationally renowned college.
“The Play’s the Thing,” by poet and playwright Liz Coronado Castillo
Date: March 24, 2025
Time/Location:
- 9:15 A.M.-10:30 A.M., Clarence Windzell Norris (CWN), 216
- 10:45 A.M.-12:00 P.M., Clarence Windzell Norris (CWN), 316
Description: In celebration of Women’s History Month, this presentation explores identity, gender, and the experience of growing up in the border region. Through excerpts from my poetry and plays, I’ll share personal narratives that navigate culture and resilience. Join me for a discussion on storytelling as a tool for self-discovery and empowerment.
Showcase - What Makes You Proud to be a Woman?
Date: March 26, 2025
Time: 12:00 P.M.-1:00 P.M.
Location: Turbon Student Center (TSC), Lobby
Description: Women of different ages and stages from SPC and the community will be invited to answer the question and share/explain an artifact from their past, present or future. It could be a photo, quote, scripture, short story, joke, etc. The event will provide encouragement, solidarity, vulnerability, laughter, tears, courage, and strength.
Voices of Female Students Panel
Date: March 26, 2025
Time: 11:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.
Location: Turbon Student Center (TSC), Lobby
Description: Panel of women in different ages and stages are asked questioned by the Moderator. The audience is also encouraged to provide their answers. The result is a robust discussion. The panelists receive the questions in advance, and are prepared and comfortable sharing their views.
The I-35 Literary Road Trip! Minneapolis to San Antonio – Louise Erdrich and Sandra Cisneros: “Moving Forward Together”
Date: March 27, 2025
Time: 12:00 P.M.-1:00 P.M.
Location: Sutton Learning Center (SLC), 219B
Description: The event will focus on the multifaceted impact of two women writers, Sandra Cisneros and Louise Erdrich. Cisneros and Erdrich have been influential over a period of more than four decades, starting in the early 1980s. During the event, we will discuss their unique contributions to literature, focusing on ways in which their novels offer wisdom, humor and inspiration drawn from their authentic experience in the Mexican American and Native American communities. Through their stories, fascinating characters, and uniquely realistic settings, we will also demonstrate the value of cultivating empathy with others through literature. The event will align closely with the theme of Women’s History Month 2025: “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations.”
Women's History Month-Long Activities
Moving Forward Together! Hidden Figures Movie
Date: February 17, 2025 – March 28, 2025
Time: Online
Location: Canvas
Description: A Canvas assignment will be created and put in the Commons for instructors to copy into their courses.
Social & Behavioral Sciences Scavenger Hunt
Dates: March 1–31, 2025
Time: Online
Location: Canvas
Description: This event is designed to familiarize students with important female figures who have contributed to the fields found in the social & behavioral sciences. A questionnaire and answer keys will be shared with the SBS faculty, and they can copy them into their course. This is an optional activity. The questionnaire can be assigned as an extra-credit activity for students.
The Women's History Month Display
Date: March 1–31, 2025
Time: 8:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M.
Location: Center for Learning Resources (CLR), Library 1st Floor
Description: This display will feature a variety of women who have made a lasting impact on education across the globe. From Artemisia Bowden to Maria Montessori, the dedication of these women to empower other women through education has left a lasting legacy of scientific discovery, social reform and countless other achievements.
WHM Reflection Question
Date: March 1–31, 2025
Time: Online
Location: AlamoEXPERIENCE
Description: Student Life routinely asks a question to get feedback from our students and community. We can share some of the answers and give a prize for the best student answer. Who is Your Shero (Female Hero) and Why?
Historical Women of SPC
Saint Artemisia Bowden, Years of Service 1902-1954
Artemisia Bowden served 52 years at St. Philip’s, guiding the institution from an industrial school to an accredited community college. As a 1900 graduate with teaching credentials from Saint Augustine’s School, an Episcopal school in Raleigh, North Carolina, Bishop James Steptoe Johnston chose Ms. Bowden to lead the development of St. Philip’s. Over the years, Ms. Bowden continued her education, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Augustine’s and completing graduate work at Columbia University, Cheney State Teachers' College, the New York School of Social Work, and the University of Colorado. In 1935, Wiley College presented her with an honorary master’s degree, then in 1952, an honorary doctorate from Tillotson College, now Huston-Tillotson University. Artemisia Bowden is responsible for the survival of St. Philip’s and its tremendous growth throughout her years of service from 1902-1954. By 1928, St. Philip’s had achieved junior college status under Bowden’s leadership, and by 1951, the College was granted full accreditation. Upon the unification of St. Philip’s College and San Antonio College into the San Antonio Union Junior College District in 1942, Bowden’s title was changed from president to dean, and upon her retirement she was named Dean Emeritus. In addition to her work at St. Philip’s, Ms. Bowden served as president of the San Antonio Metropolitan Council of Negro Women as well as founder and president of the Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club. She was appointed to the Texas Commission on Interracial Relations in 1947. In addition, she is credited with introducing a Black nursing unit in Robert B. Green Hospital, securing Lindbergh Park for Black residents and establishing the East End Settlement House. Her dedication to the community and St. Philip’s resulted in Ms. Bowden being named a Holy Woman of the Episcopal Church in 2015. Her Feast Day is celebrated each year on August 18th. Ms. Bowden’s legacy has been honored in the naming of Bowden Elementary School, the Bowden Chapter of Business and Professional Women, the Bowden Administration Building (now Bowden Legacy Building), Artemisia’s at St. Philip’s College, the University of the Incarnate Word Bowden Eye Care and Health Institute and the Saint Bowden Building. Minnie Meade Lowery, Years of Service 1898-1902
Minnie Meade Lowery was one of the first graduates of St. Philip’s Normal and Industrial School in 1902. She earned a diploma with certifications in both cooking and sewing. The sewing class was organized by Bishop James Steptoe Johnston; Rev. William Marshall, the first minister of St. Philip’s Church; ladies of the church; and Mrs. Jackson, a dress maker employed as the instructor. The class was held in one room of the rectory. Minnie Meade was one of approximately 12 students in the school at the time. Sewing classes were not offered in public schools at the time, so St. Philip’s provided instruction that was not available elsewhere for these students. The summer after her graduation, Minnie Meade gave Artemisia Bowden her first tour of the school shortly after Ms. Bowden’s arrival in San Antonio. Mrs. Lowery was a proud graduate of St. Philip’s and participated in unveiling the school’s historical marker at La Villita in 1976. Esdale Malloy, Years of Service 1919-1921 and 1942-1962
Esdale Malloy had over 20 years of service to St. Philip’s. She began her education at Scotia Seminary in Concord, North Carolina, then studied at Prairie View College, now Prairie View A&M University, in Texas and Columbia University in New York. Ms. Malloy first came to St. Philip’s in 1919 and stayed until 1921. She returned to the school from 1942 to 1962, serving as a professor and chair of the Home Economics department upon her retirement. In addition to being an economics teacher, she was the first group leader of the beginnings of the Faculty Senate and the sponsor of the SPC Personality Club. Kathryn Walker Morgan, Years of Service 1966-1994
Kathryn Ann Walker Morgan was a devoted educator, renowned musician and co-founder of the famed Walker Ford Singers of San Antonio. She graduated from Saint Peter Claver Academy, an all-Black Catholic high school, and then went on to earn college degrees. While pursuing her post-secondary education, Ms. Morgan earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri and a Master of Music degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in addition to completing additional coursework in the Community College of Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin. She started her professional career at St. Philip’s College when she joined the faculty in 1966, where she began the music and visual arts programs. She also served as the Dean of Arts and Sciences before her retirement in 1994. St. Philip’s College honored Ms. Morgan by naming a gallery after her in the Watson Fine Arts Center, known as the Kathryn Morgan Gallery. Dr. Angie Stokes Runnels, Years of Service 2000-2006
Dr. Angie Stokes Runnels was a dedicated educator, with experience as an elementary school teacher, college administrator, and President of St. Philip’s College. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Butler College and a Master of Education degree from East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas, in 1971. In 1988, she was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) at The University of Texas at Austin. Her career began as an elementary school teacher in Borger, Texas, before moving on to serve as an instructor and counselor at McKinney Job Corps Center for Women in McKinney, Texas. She served as an administrator at several colleges before becoming the Executive District Director of Educational Partnerships for the Dallas County Community College District. Dr. Runnels ended her career as the 12th President of St. Philip’s College, with 6 years of service from 2000 to 2006, when she was forced to retire due to health concerns. Her tenure at St. Philip’s oversaw the expansion of the Southwest Campus, which became an official campus of St. Philip’s in 1987 as a hub for technical training programs and formerly part of Kelly Air Force Base, now Port San Antonio Industrial Park. Rose R. Thomas, Years of Service 1966-1994
Rose Thomas devoted 24 years to St. Philip’s College, serving as an English instructor, English Department Chair, Dean of Arts and Sciences and Vice President of Academic Affairs. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from The University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and a Master of Arts in English from the University of Colorado at Greeley in 1974. Later that year, she accepted a position as an English instructor at St. Philip’s College. Her dedication to the College and its students earned her a number of promotions, ultimately ending her career as the Vice President of Academic Affairs. After her passing in 1998, St. Philip’s College named a writing center in her honor, the Rose R. Thomas Writing Center, which is located on the third floor of the Clarence Windzell Norris Building. |
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