Alfred University hosted a discussion Wednesday, March 26, recognizing the historical significance of women serving the military. The event in Powell Campus Center, was held in observance of March as Women’s History Month.
Held in collaboration with Alfred State College, the event started with a showing of a brief film titled “Women in the Military: A history of fighting for the right to fight,” which chronicled how the role of women in the military as evolved from the late 1700s to modern day. Historical books on women in the military—from the collections of Alfred University’s Herrick Library and Alfred State’s Hinkle Library—were on display.
Laurie Lounsberry Meehan ’91, university archivist, talked about the history of women’s military service, in general and as it relates to Alfred University. She noted that before women were fully integrated into military service, their roles were primarily in positions supporting the fighting soldiers: as mothers who raised families and kept households while their husbands were fighting in wars, or as nurses treating those injured in battle.
“There are many ways women have served the military,” Meehan commented. “The saying ‘behind every great man is a great woman’: it’s certainly apt in our military history.”
Meehan talked about Alumna Phebe Evans ’60, who served as a nurse in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. She noted that during World War I, while many of Alfred’s male students were serving, women took on roles that had been held by men. For example, in 1918, Marion Roos became the first female editor of the Fiat Lux student newspaper. World War II, Meehan said, led to the formation of Alfred University’s College of Nursing. The Cadet Nurse Corps Program was established at the university by the U.S. government in 1943 to help meet a critical need for trained nurses.
“The Cadet Nurse Corps Program started on our campus to quickly train nurses for the war effort,” Meehan said, noting that the program offered a three-year certificate training course. “This grew into our College of Nursing.”
In 1973, women students were permitted to participate in Alfred University’s Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program.
Some women of distinction from Alfred University to serve our military include Col. Sara “Sally” Pritchett, who served in the U.S. Marines from 1964-87. Pritchett spent her first three years of college at Alfred before transferring to the University of Maryland to complete her bachelor’s degree in communications. She served as Navy Information Officer at the Pentagon before retiring in 1987, and in 2010 was awarded Alfred University’s Abigail Allen Award for Service to Women.
Lt. Paige (Junker) Ormiston ’99, after earning her law degree from the University at Buffalo, served as an assistant command judge advocate for the U.S. Navy from 2002-09. In 2010, Ormiston earned her LLM advance degree in military law and served as Naval School justice instructor in operational law from 2010-13; then as deputy force judge advocate for the Naval Air Force, from 2013-15. She was an assistant professor of law at the U.S. Naval Academy from 2016-19; Civil Law Department Head, Region Legal Service for the U.S. Navy, from 2019-22; and since 2023 has served as associate counsel for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command in Norfolk, VA.
Attendees at Wednesday’s event talked about women they know who served or took on a role supporting servicemen; discussed their own service; or offered historical perspectives of women in military service. They were invited to write down their stories and impressions, which will be posted on the wall of the Military Resource Center in Powell Campus Center.
“We plan to continue honoring our service men and women,” said Angie Taylor, chief diversity officer at Alfred University, who helped coordinate the event.
Andrew Burlingame, military and academic coach in the Bernstein Center for Advising, thanked those who attended. “Coming here to these events helps us create more awareness for what we do for our military community,” he commented.