The Women of Ohio Wesleyan University

March is recognized worldwide as Women’s History Month, celebrating all those who made lasting changes and impacts in the past, to create a better future for women today and provide greater opportunities to those in the future. This month of celebration came to be in 1987, yet is now only becoming a great ordeal. Serving as an opportunity for the under-appreciated women, from mothers, wives, sisters, entrepreneurs, lawyers, actresses, and everything else in between. 

Here at Ohio Wesleyan, women make up the majority of the campus! In the 2023-2024 school year, 225 out of the 441 faculty and staff members were women. In the incoming 2025 class, females made up 54.6% of the class. Not only are the numbers growing in recent years, but we can give all the thanks and credit to the powerful women alumni who set this system up. 

It all began in 1853 when Ohio Wesleyan Female College was established, where very notable women attended. Poet Melissa Elizabeth Riddle Banta, Second Lady of the United States, Cornelia Cole Fairbanks - wife of former president Charles W. Fairbanks, First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes - wife of former president and resident of Delaware, Rutherford B Hayes; and lastly Flora Wambaugh Patterson, who was the first female hired by the Department of Agriculture as a plant pathologist. 

These women created the pathway(s) for all the women who are currently attending the University, planning to attend, and those who are proud alumni. 

Many other Ohio Wesleyan graduates who were women who h maad or still have remarkable acts an outstanding contribution in their industry include; Helen Blair Barlett who contributed to the invention and discovery of spark plug insulators, Kathryn Barger and Jo Ann Emerson are both representatives in the United States Government, Masa Nakayama who became the first female cabinet minister in Japan, and lastly, Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Wendie Malick. 

As of March of 2026, there are six clubs and organizations on campus that are fully run and promoted by just women. In 2016, the Women of Ohio Wesleyan or WOW, was created to encourage women to inspire one another in order for the recognition of the dedication and power they have in this world.  Much like Women’s History Month,  the organization celebrates the person she is while allowing connections to be made leading to meaningful opportunities and empowering messages to be heard. 

While reflecting on the women of Ohio Wesleyan women who made an everlasting influence, serving the purpose of reminding us of the challenges that were battled and the opportunities that now shape the campus community today. The legacy of women is to be remembered and celebrated, not just in the month of March, but for every day that is to come and especially those moving forward.