“Class of 1932 Letter December 8, 1989 from Jane Belcher.” Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, Maine December 8, 1989.
In Jane Belcher’s December 8th, 1989 letter to her graduating class, she discussed the luck and gratitude she felt towards Colby for taking a chance on her as a young biology faculty member. Belcher recounted how she had only one female student in the first course she taught. This letter demonstrates the mentality women often held when they were given positions in an academic institution. They often reduced their hiring to luck rather than skill. Belcher was a smart, determined student and professor. At the time she entered the field, however, female representation and inclusion was so few and far in between that any position acquired was seen as a lucky chance granted by the men in charge.
Curated by Ophelia Baxter