Lucile Berkeley Buchanan (Courtesy of the Buchanan Archives and the University of Colorado Boulder)
Alexia: Hi! I’m Alexia Bailey, a freshman here at CU Boulder. While I may just be getting started, I’m here to share everything I’ve picked up so far, which is a surprising amount of information. “What’s eating at Alexia” is my unofficial and unfiltered guide to some of the things that being a CU Boulder Buff brings. Think of it as your guide to navigating everything that makes CU Boulder, well, CU Boulder. Whether you’re a freshman finding your footing or a senior with “no body, no crime” level grievances about finals week, I’m here to share my takes, tips and honest observations on everything from the sometimes-unpredictable Buff Bus system to navigating campus protests (or dodging them entirely). College is a wild, unforgettable ride, and “What’s eating at Alexia” is here to make sense of some of it, one opinion at a time.
As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the trailblazing women who have shaped the University of Colorado Boulder’s history.
An important female name that you may have seen or heard around campus would be Lucile Berkeley Buchanan. Buchanan holds a significant place in history as the first African American woman to graduate from both the University of Northern Colorado in 1905 and the University of Colorado in 1918. Despite earning a B.A. in German from CU Boulder, she was barred from walking across the graduation stage and excluded from the university’s 1918 yearbook, a stark reminder of the racism she faced. Deeply hurt by this rejection, Buchanan vowed never to return to CU Boulder, a promise she kept for the rest of her life. Dedicated to education, she spent her career as a school teacher and continued her own learning by attending the University of Chicago’s graduate school in 1937. Buchanan’s commitment to knowledge, voting and teaching spanned decades, and she passed away in 1989 at the remarkable age of 105 in Denver. Despite her groundbreaking achievements, she was laid to rest in an unmarked grave, a quiet end to a life that broke barriers and paved the way for future generations. She now has a gravestone to mark her extraordinary life and CU Boulder renamed an education building in Buchanan’s honor in 2021.
“Renaming our education building in her honor is perhaps the best way to ensure that her academic achievements and lifetime legacy will live on,” former Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano said in a statement in 2021.
Believed to be the first female faculty member at a state university, Mary Rippon made (her)story in 1878 when she joined the faculty here in Boulder. Rippon was invited by the university’s first president, Joseph Sewall, to teach French and German. Rippon accepted and would later become the chair of the Department of Modern Languages, which later became the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures. Her personal life and her teaching career did intertwine; she had a secret love child with a twenty-five year old CU Boulder student, and the child was then left in a European orphanage. But then again, who isn’t without their faults? Honestly, I don’t think that Rippon should be remembered solely for this scandal surrounding her personal life. Of course, I was absolutely shocked reading her Wikipedia article and I did feel like I had entered an episode of “Gossip Girl” for a second there. I very obviously cannot and will never condone or approve of this unprofessional behavior in the academic setting. But, I truly don’t think she should be remembered solely for the scandal surrounding her personal life. We all have our faults, clearly some more significant than others, but her lasting impact goes far beyond her personal struggles. I mean, Rippon led the way for female faculty of the time, and is said to have prioritized female students and learning during her time at CU Boulder. She changed the university in a good, positive way – so much so that Rippon was awarded with an honorary degree in 2009, and she is also honored through the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, which hosts the renowned Colorado Shakespeare Festival each year.
Some other notable female alumni that have also graced the halls of the University of Colorado Boulder would be: Lynne Cheney (MEngLit’64), wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney; fiction Pulitzer Prize-winner Jean Stafford (A&S’36; MA’38; HonDocHum’72) and Kalpana Chawla, who was the first Indian woman to go to space (DocPhil’88).
The women of CU Boulder have also made athletic history, as half of the Olympians in the history of the U.S. women’s steeplechase event have been CU Boulder students. The four women are Emma Coburn, Jenny Simpson, Shalaya Kipp and Val Constien.
As we reflect on the legacies of women like Mary Rippon, Lucile Berkeley Buchanan and the many other trailblazers who have left their mark on CU Boulder, it’s impossible to ignore the complexities and contradictions in their stories. These women weren’t perfect, I mean, who is? But their courage to break barriers and pursue education at a time when the odds were stacked against them is what makes their legacies so powerful.
Knowing that they jumped off a cliff of adversity and uncertainty so female students like me could fly is such a powerful and motivating message. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let’s go beyond the plaques and renamed buildings. Let’s ask ourselves how we can continue to elevate women’s voices, challenge outdated systems and ensure that the next generation of trailblazers, both at CU Boulder and everywhere, are recognized not just for what they endure, but for how they thrive.
If history tells us anything, it’s that the women who shape our institutions often do so against the odds, and that’s something worth celebrating, and fighting for, every day of the year.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Opinion Editor Alexia Bailey at Alexia.Bailey@colorado.edu.
