Contact: David Williams
Communications Specialist
Integrated Marketing and Communications
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
(920) 424-2442
williamd@uwosh.edu
http://www.uwosh.edu/
8 women astronaut pioneers to attend 2-day event in their honor
Honorary doctorates will be 1st group recognition
for women of Mercury 13 in nation’s history
OSHKOSH, Wis. – For the first time in the nation’s history, the Mercury 13 women will
be honored as a group. The women, who trained in secret in the 1960s to become
astronauts, will receive honorary doctorates as part of a two-day celebration of their
achievements May 11 and 12 at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Eight of the
original 13 will attend.
On May 12, The Mercury 13 will be awarded honorary doctorates at the university’s
133rd commencement ceremonies. It will be the first time they have been honored as a
group since they passed the rigorous test to be astronauts but learned in summer 1961 that
the project was cancelled. Their chance to reach for the stars had been grounded by the
prejudices of the time.
Renowned author Martha Ackmann will be keynote speaker during commencement
ceremonies at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at Kolf Sports Center, 785 High
Ave., Oshkosh.
Ackmann, whose book “The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the
Dream of Space Flight” shared the women’s remarkable story with the world, will give
the address, The Sky is Not the Limit.
The women will discuss what made them aspire to become astronauts and their personal
experiences in a panel discussion at 10:15 a.m. on May 11, in the Reeve Memorial
Union Ballroom, 748 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh. Due to the enthusiastic response, the
venue has changed to accommodate those attending.
Ackmann’s book was selected to be part of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s
freshman orientation program. The stories of the Mercury 13 made an impression on the
UW Oshkosh campus community, and visits by Ackmann and Wally Funk inspired the
students and faculty alike. Honoring these women has special meaning beyond the role
that Ackmann’s book has in the university’s curriculum. The Mercury 13 women reflect
the spirit and pioneering tradition of UW Oshkosh, a university that in 1871 began
providing opportunities for women to become teachers and opening the door for future
generations of women and men to earn degrees in a variety of liberal arts and
professional study fields. UW Oshkosh also is the home for the UW System’s nationally
acclaimed Women and Science program.
Those participating in the panel discussion and commencement ceremonies are Myrtle
"K" Thompson Cagle, Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen, Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb, Irene
Leverton, Sarah Lee Gorelick Ratley, Bernice “B” Steadman, Geraldine “Jerri” Sloan
Truhill and Rhea Allison Hurrle Woltman.
Members of The Mercury 13 unable to attend will be sisters Jan and Marion Dietrich,
Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk, Jane “Janey” Briggs Hart, Jean Hixson. Marion Dietrich
and Hixson have passed away.
Ackmann, a journalist and author who writes about women who have changed America,
has written articles for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times
and many other publications. Ackmann has been featured on television and radio
programs such as the “Today” show, CNN, BBC and Voice of America, and she is a
commentator for National Public Radio.
Her book about The Mercury 13 story received critical acclaim after its publication by
Random House. Ackmann, who uses the Mercury 13 as a study of women’s
determination and hope, recently delivered the keynote lecture for National Women’s
History Month at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
For media passes for the May 12 commencement ceremonies, click on
http://www.uwosh.edu/mercury13/mediapassrequestform.php.
For information on The Mercury 13 and the two-day event at UW Oshkosh, click
http://www.uwosh.edu/mercury13/index.php.
MEDIA: Parking will be available in Lot 15, across from Reeve Memorial Union.
Wireless Internet will available Friday in Reeve Memorial Union Room 215 and
Saturday in Kolf Room 164.
(The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has grown since its founding in 1871 to become
the third largest university in Wisconsin. With a fulltime enrollment of more than 12,400
(11,000 on campus) students, the university offers 73 associate, baccalaureate and
master’s degree programs in the colleges of Business Administration, Education and Human
Services, Letters and Sciences and Nursing. UW Oshkosh, an educational and cultural
anchor that had a $501-million impact on the New North region in 2005-2006, serves as
an economic engine for 1.2 million citizens of northeastern Wisconsin.)
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UW Oshkosh media releases are available on the Internet at
http://www.uwosh.edu/news_bureau/releases/webnews.php