{"id":58391,"date":"2022-03-06T17:55:39","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T22:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/?p=58391"},"modified":"2023-06-06T18:18:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T22:18:33","slug":"march-observances-womens-history-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/news\/march-observances-womens-history-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"March Observances: Women’s History and More"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"womens-history-month\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women\u2019s History Week. He\u00a0stated \u201c\u2026the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well…\u201d<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s History Month<\/strong> officially began in 1987 and recognizes all women for their valuable contributions to history and society. At the time, Carter urged the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment; however, it took decades to reach ratification.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In January, 2020,\u00a0Virginia ratified the ERA<\/a>, becoming the 38th state to do so and, in supporters’ eyes, clinching the necessary benchmark for addition to the US Constitution nearly a half-century after the amendment began making its way through state legislatures.<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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Here at UNC<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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More than 11,000 women are enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today, making up more than half of the student body. But that wasn’t always the case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"janet_fischer_first_woman_womens-history\"<\/a>
Janet Jordan Fischer, MD, was the first woman faculty member in the Department of Medicine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First Woman Student in the School of Medicine<\/h4>\n

Cora Zeta Corpening<\/a> was the first female student in the UNC School of Medicine, enrolling in 1915. The male students voted not to admit her, but she came to classes anyway. Today about half of medical students are women.<\/p>\n

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First Woman Faculty Member in the Department of Medicine<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Dr. Janet Jordan Fischer<\/a> was the first woman faculty member in the Department of Medicine. She was a fellow in 1952 and became an instructor in 1953. She was awarded the Sarah Graham Kenan Professorship and served in the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Fischer devoted her life to the practice of medicine, to the education of medical students, residents, and Infectious Disease fellows, and to the advancement of women in her profession. She retired professor emeritus in 1991.<\/p>\n

\"gwendolyn-harrison-1951-womens-history\"<\/a>
Gwendolyn Harrison, the first Black woman to attend UNC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gwendolyn Harrison, the First African American Woman to Attend UNC<\/h4>\n

When Gwendolyn Harrison<\/a> decided to come to UNC to pursue a Ph.D. in Spanish, she went through the usual process: she applied and was accepted, and she was assigned a room in one of the women\u2019s dormitories. She arrived on campus in June 1951, checked into her dorm, and went to begin the registration process. When she returned to her dorm, a university employee told her that there had been a mistake: Harrison\u2019s registration was cancelled and should would not be allowed to attend UNC that term. The reason? They had not realized that Harrison was an African American. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0Visit this timeline<\/a> to learn more about the history of women at Carolina.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month<\/h2>\n

\"Developmental-Disabilities-Month\"<\/a>March is also National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, established to increase awareness and understanding of issues that affect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.\u00a0Every March, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities partners with Association for University Centers on Disabilities and National Disability Rights Network to create a social media campaign that highlights the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.<\/p>\n

Learn more.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Other Observances<\/h2>\n