While Stevens was founded in 1870, it took more than a hundred years for women to be admitted into the undergraduate program in 1971. From a small class of 19 to a class size of 1,100, women make their mark on Stevens’ history each year. Their legacy can be seen throughout Stevens and has continued to impact us today.
One of these women, Lore E. Feiler, was an eager student who was excited to learn.
Before women could enroll at Stevens, they often attended the institute’s business classes. Feiler was born in 1914 in Pforzheim, Germany, and lived with her parents and siblings above their father’s jewelry factory. After moving to America in 1925, she lived in West New York, NJ, and attended Packard Business College. Her friend, the mayor of Hoboken, introduced her to Professor Frederick Gaudet, who helped arrange for Feiler to attend business classes unofficially at Stevens. Using the coursework’s foundations, she grew her manufacturing business and sold to customers like Bulova and Girard. After she retired, Stevens had gone co-ed, and Feiler expressed her gratitude through a founding gift for the Lore-El Center for Women’s Leadership, a residence hall for women and non-binary students.
Another pioneer, Enid May Hawkins, the first professional librarian in Stevens, worked at Stevens for nearly 40 years. During her time here, she grew the library’s collection from 5,000 to over 30,000 books and oversaw the acquisition of various technical reference texts, engineering periodicals, and significant historical collections.
According to a profile from The Stute, Hawkins was largely responsible for changing the library’s reputation from “dingy old den” in Edwin A. Stevens Hall to the “central nervous system for research and study on campus.”
Finally, the first president of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Beatrice Hicks, obtained her master’s in Physics from Stevens. Hicks was born in 1919, where she was surrounded by and engaged in technology during her childhood. In 1955, she became the president of Newark Controls Company, which manufactured control devices and sensors. There, she developed a gas density sensor, a device that accurately measured the density of gases from a wide range of temperatures and pressures. This invention was essential for the space industry, aviation industry, and safety systems. Throughout the years, she continued to promote the role of women in engineering. In 1950, Hicks and a group of female engineers started the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) to support women in technician professions. As SWE’s first president, she organized the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists in 1964. Hicks continued to travel across the country to promote equal opportunities and conduct educational activities.
The impact of these women can still be felt today. The Lore-El Center remains an active participant in the campus community, hosting events to celebrate and support the inclusion of everyone. They hosted events like the Leadership Conference: Rise & Redefine, which brought students together for a day of collaboration around modern leadership. The Samuel C. Williams Library supports students each day through its drop-in tutoring program and large selection of historical archives. Meanwhile, SWE is the “world’s largest advocate and catalyst for change in engineering and technology” with over 50,000 members spanning 85 countries. Stevens’ chapter of SWE has hosted many events to professionally network with companies, engage in mentorship programs, and build a strong community of women engineers. To this day, women have continuously shaped the future of Stevens and the world.
