"Gritty" Graduates from UVA's First Coeducational Class Honored at A&S Symposium

Two alumnae from the Class of '74 flank an unveiled portrait of the first class of undergraduate women to graduate from UVA.
Alumnae Ann Brown (left) and Betty Shotton unveil a portrait of the pioneering women from the Class of '74, UVA's first fully coeducational class.
Photo credit: UVA Alumni Association

A two-day symposium honoring the first graduating class of undergraduate women at the University of Virginia, organized by the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and the UVA Alumni Association, opened with a Rotunda Dome Room event that drew a standing room only crowd to hear stories from seven members of the College’s pioneering Class of 1974.

Christa Acampora, the Buckner W. Clay Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, shared moderating duties for the “Spirit of 1974” symposium's Sept. 25 event with fourth-year A&S student Jaden Bernard. 

Class of ’74 panelists Paulette Jones Morant, Patty Kyle Epps, Dickie McMullan, Janet Palmer Hamel, Holly Peters, Roseann Romito and Barbara Golden Lynn took turns fielding questions about the challenges they faced their first year on Grounds, the classroom environment and social scene they experienced, and where they turned for support.

Class of '74 alumna Dickie McMullan (pointing) shares a story from her undergraduate years at UVA.

In her closing remarks, Acampora acknowledged former UVA vice president of student affairs Ernie Ern in the audience and noted in his role back then as Dean of Admission, he hand-selected the inaugural class of women. When choosing the 350 first-year and 100 transfer students, he looked for those who were “gritty.” 

UVA was the last public university in the United States to go coed, Acampora said, and Ern admitted a class of female students who all displayed “the capacity to rise to the formidable challenges that he knew these young women would encounter."

“The Class of ’74, their spirit, their presence was felt quickly both in the classroom and outside of it,” Acampora said. “They founded women’s sports teams, became active in domains spanning the entire university landscape from Residential Life to the Jefferson Society to the Cavalier Daily, as you have heard. And tonight, they have once again transformed this Rotunda.”

The event concluded with the unveiling of a photo portrait of the female members of the Class of ’74. The portrait will hang in Shannon Library as part of the President’s Portrait Series honoring UVA community members who have shaped the institution.