Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame

The Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to history of the U.S. state of Tennessee.

History

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The organization was founded and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2010 to recognize accomplished women who have impacted the development of the state of Tennessee and improved the status of other women.[1] It is the brainchild of the Women's Economic Council Foundation, Inc. and the Tennessee Economic Council on Women.[2]

Criteria

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The criteria for induction into the Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame is that women were born in and achieved recognition within the state; are or have a resident in Tennessee for an extended period of time or adopted Tennessee as their home state. Additional criteria includes women who,:[3]

  • Have made significant, unique and permanent contributions to the economic, political and cultural betterment of Tennessee;
  • Have elevated the status of women;
  • Have promoted other women and women’s issues;
  • Have been advocates for those issues which are important to women and families

Inductees

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The hall inducts new members annually or bi-annually and includes both contemporary and historical women or organizations which benefit women.[4]

Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame
Name Image Birth–Death Year Area of achievement
Joy Bishop (1934–2023) 2015 First career Air Force woman appointed to the Senior Executive Service[5] and served as the Women's Program Coordinator.[6]
Lizzie Crozier French   (1851–1926) 2015 Founder of the Knoxville Female Institute and the Tennessee Suffrage Association[7]
Elizabeth Rona (1890–1981) 2015 First woman to teach chemistry in any university in Hungary, in the United States, she served on the Manhattan Project[8]
Janice M. Holder (1949–) 2015 First woman Chief Justice of Tennessee[9]
Rosetta Miller-Perry (1934–)[10] 2015 Founder of the Greater Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce, and co-founder, publisher and journalist of Perry & Perry Publishing Company[11]
Margaret Rhea Seddon   (1947–) 2015 One of the inaugural group of women astronauts of NASA[12]
Zulfat Suara   2015[13] Chair and founder of the American Muslim Council of Tennessee[14]
Carol Gardner Transou (1936–2021)[15] 2015 1987 Tennessee Teacher of the Year and first Tennessee Teacher-Scholar of the National Endowment for the Humanities[16]
Margaret L. Behm (c. 1951–)[17] 2013 Co-founded Shipley & Behm, the first all-woman law firm in Nashville[18]
Wilsie S. Bishop (1949–)[19] 2013 First woman Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of East Tennessee State University[20]
M. Inez Crutchfield (c. 1925–)[21] 2013 First African American to hold an appointed and elected statewide position in the Tennessee State Federation of Democratic Women[22]
Shirley C. Raines (1945–)[23] 2013 President of the University of Memphis[24]
Becca Stevens (1963–) 2013 Founder of Magdalene House[25]
Jocelyn Wurzburg (1940–)[26] 2013 Orchestrated an interfaith and inter-racial group response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.[27]
Pat Summitt
 
(1952–2016) 2011 Most all-time wins for a coach in NCAA basketball history of either a men's or women's team in any division[28]
Martha Craig Daughtrey   (1942–) 2010 First Tennessee woman to be appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit[29]
Jane G. Eskind (1933–2016) 2010 First woman to win a statewide election in Tennessee[30][31]

References

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  1. ^ "Former nuclear physics teacher in OR to be inducted into TN Women's Hall of Fame". Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Oak Ridge Today. October 2, 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  2. ^ "About". Nashville, Tennessee: Women's Economic Council Foundation. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Nominations Open June 5th for the Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame 2015 Induction Cycle" (PDF). Newsletter of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Economic Council on Women: 3. May 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Nominations open for Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame 2015". Nashville, Tennessee: The Daily Times. June 14, 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Joy Bishop". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Federally Employed Women Hear Reports". Del Rio, Texas: Del Rio News Herald. 1 March 1977. p. 5. Retrieved 1 January 2016 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ "Lizzie Crozier French". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Elizabeth Rona". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Janice M. Holder". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Rosetta Miller-Perry". Chicago, Illinois: The History Makers. 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Rosetta Miller Perry". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Rhea Seddon". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Zulfat Suara". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  14. ^ "American Muslim Advisory Council". San Jose, California: Islamic Networks Group. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Retired Johnson City teacher, community activist dies". Johnson City Press. November 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "Carol Gardner Transou". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Margaret L. Behm". Nashville, Tennessee: Dodson Parker Behm and Capparella PC. 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  18. ^ "Margaret Behm". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  19. ^ Laube, Leigh Ann (February 3, 2014). "Willing to say 'YES": Women's hall of fame honors ETSU Vice President". Kingsport, Tennessee: Times News. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Wilsie S. Bishop". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  21. ^ Clay, Wanda (November 1, 2013). "Inez Crutchfield inducted into the Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame". Nashville, Tennessee: Nashville Pride. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  22. ^ "Inez Crutchfield". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Shirley C. Raines". New York City, New York: Bloomberg Business Profiles. 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  24. ^ "Shirley Raines". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  25. ^ "Becca Stevens". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  26. ^ Freeman, Sarah Wilkerson; Bond, Beverly (1 October 2010). Tennessee Women: Their Lives and Times. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. p. 395. ISBN 978-0-8203-3901-6.
  27. ^ "Jocelyn Dan Wurzburg". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  28. ^ "Pat Summitt". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  29. ^ "Martha Craig Daughtrey". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  30. ^ "Jane G. Eskind". Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame. 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  31. ^ Boucher, Dave; Tamburin, Adam (August 6, 2016). "Jane Eskind, Tennessee trailblazer and Louisville native, dead at 83". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 15, 2019.

Further reading

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