As many of you know, March is a month to celebrate women. Not only is March known as Women’s History Month, but March 8 is also designated as International Women’s Day. And there are so many women to celebrate in one’s life, the mothers, sisters, aunts, friends, colleagues and others who made history. Andrews University, too, is home to many incredible female alumni. From an incredible physicist, to a congress representative, to the first lady of Hawaii. These women achieved many great things as they lived out the motto “world changers.” Their legacy continues to this day in the lives of other women graduates and students at Andrews as they aspire to make this world a better place.
Melba Newell Phillips was born on Feb. 1, 1907, as the eldest daughter of a family of four children. An intelligent student, Phillips graduated from Union High School in 1922 at the age of fifteen with plans to become a teacher. She began studying mathematics at Oakland City College, where she got her bachelor’s degree. She then taught for two years, after which she earned her master’s degree in physics from Battle Creek College in 1928. Battle Creek College was later moved to Berrien Springs, Michigan, and renamed Andrews University. Philips then went on to complete her doctorate in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and later worked with the renowned physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Their co-authored paper, published in 1935, was titled “Note on the Transmutation Function for Deuterons.” The process described in this paper, the Oppenheimer–Phillips effect, was one of the earliest contributions to nuclear physics. She taught at many universities during her lifetime, including the University of Minnesota and Brooklyn College, and authored two physics textbooks. Philips was also actively involved in the American Association of Physics Teachers and became their first female president. Her other numerous accomplishments can be studied here.
Another woman to make headlines was Shirley Neil Pettis. Born Shirley Neil McCumber on July 12, 1924. She graduated from Andrews Academy in 1942 and attended Andrews University from 1942 to 1943. She went on to be elected to California’s 37th congressional district, in a special election due to the death of her husband, for the 94th Congress. She was then re-elected to serve in the 95th Congress with a landslide majority of 71.1% of the votes (April 29, 1975-Jan. 3, 1979). During her time as a representative, she secured the passage of her late husband's California Desert Protection Act and the Joshua Tree Wilderness Act. Pettis did not seek reelection for the next term. Her additional contributions could be read about here.
Yet another woman to make waves in the political world was Lynne Kobashigawa Waihee, born Dec. 9, 1946, to two parents of Okinawan ancestry. Both she and her future husband, John Waihe'e III, graduated from Seventh-day Adventist Hawaiian Mission Academy in 1964. They went on to attend Andrews University and remained in Michigan for a time, where Lynne began teaching, while her husband became involved in small-town community activism. The family returned to Hawaii in 1971, where Lynne became a strong advocate for children’s literacy. Then, her husband’s victory in the 1986 gubernatorial election made him the first native Hawaiian to be elected as governor in any U.S. state. In her role as first lady, Lynne continued to support children’s literacy, and her hard work is truly inspiring.
These women have accomplished incredible things during a time when women in scientific fields and political involvement were very limited. Philips is for the girls in STEM who are undaunted by male-dominated fields and will push through every challenge to do the work they want. Co-authoring a paper with the renowned Oppenheimer, she paved the way for other women, especially at Andrews University, where approximately half of all students are women now. Pettis is an inspiration for those who did not seek glory but stepped up to fill a need because that was the right thing to do, and excelled so well that they wanted her back. And Lynne is for those who worked hard to better the lives of others, a voice for those who had none. She worked to increase literacy for Hawaiian children and did not seek any rewards for her efforts. These three women are just the tip of the iceberg; truly, every woman graduate from Andrews has a story to tell, and one day, so will we.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.