Lasting Legacies: Being trailblazers

As the College of Medicine looks back on 50 years of women researching in the biomedical sciences, the contributions of women who paved the way for future generations are many.

Janice Egeland, PhD

Janice Egeland, PhD

Egeland became the first female faculty member of the College of Medicine.

Elaine Eyster, MD

Elaine Eyster, MD

Eyster became the second female faculty member of the College of Medicine.

Lois Forney is presented with a crystal to recognize the launch of the Lois W. Forney Society, named in her honor.

Lois Forney, MS

In 1969, Forney became the first student to graduate from the College of Medicine. She earned a master’s degree in physiology.

The Lois W. Forney Society, launched in 2010 to recognize alumni who earned their degree 30 or more years ago from Penn State College of Medicine, was named in her honor.

Judith Weisz, MB, BChir, Joanna Floros, PhD, ATSF, FAPS, FAAAS and Judith Bond, PhD

In 1976, the College promoted Weisz to full professor with tenure, the first woman to achieve that status. A decade and a half later, in 1991, Floros became the first woman hired at the level of full professor with tenure.  The College named its first female department chair, Bond, less than two years later. Floros was also the first woman in the College of Medicine to be named Evan Pugh University Professor in 2004, the highest honor Penn State can bestow on its faculty.

Judith Weisz, MB BChir

Joanna Floros, PhD, ATSF, FAPS, FAAAS

Judith Bond, PhD

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