** Springfield College in 2013-14 would be scarcely recognizable to some of those pioneer female athletes from 1963-64. You would be hard-pressed to find any coeducational school with a stronger array of female leaders. In addition to Schweitzer heading up the athletic department, Springfield features numerous female deans and depart- ment heads, as well as the executive vice president, the vice president of academic affairs, the head of campus security, the director of admissions, the head of alumni relations, and the president and vice president of the Faculty Senate. And, of course, this fall marks the inauguration of Mary-Beth
Cooper, PhD, DM, as the first female president in the history of the College. A significant part of that progress can be attributed to the coaches
and athletes who have created a half-century of women’s varsity sports on campus. The Founding Mothers—those first three coaches—are still around and plan to be involved with part of the year-long celebration planned for 2013-14. Others on the Mount Rushmore of Springfield women’s sports will be here, too: people like professor and sports psychology expert Mimi Murray. Four-sport wonder and coaching legend Dottie Potter Zenaty was honored at the kickoff event, the 24th Annual Springfield College golf Classic on September 9. Who knows— maybe even Zenaty’s 97-year-old
mother will participate. (After all, she played nine holes on the August morning when Zenaty was interviewed for this story.) These Springfield College female athletes clearly come from strong stock. Perhaps the story of the half-century of women’s sports is told best
from the experience of kelly Curtis, a 2012 graduate who was an All- American in both indoor and outdoor track and an All New England javelin champion. Curtis’s late uncle Jimmy had been a standout athlete in the Class of 1964, the year when things all began. Her dad, John, was a record-breaking wide receiver and member of the Class of 1971, the year before Title IX. But kelly’s decision to transfer to Springfield from Tulane had little to do with family connections. Instead, she says, she was drawn by a sense that it would be the right place to guide her toward a career in women’s athletics. “There were a lot of women in the athletic department working higher up in admin- istration,” she says, “so I would have role models to look to.” In a sense, Curtis is paying it forward as a graduate student and
President Mary-beth cooper and her husband, david, have committed $10,000 to the athletics program in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Women’s Varsity Athletics, and have issued a
assistant coach at St. lawrence university. She is part of a sisterhood at Springfield College, women who have made good on that long-ago goal in the 1963 Women’s Athletic Association Handbook: We hope that when we do start the
new program that you will all cooperate to make it a success.1
challenge to others. learn more about how you can join the Coopers at
springfieldcollege.edu/FoSCA.
MARY-BETH COOPER Continued from Page 11
have had the opportunity to intersect? Not all of life’s ventures are separate, and if you are really doing what you want to do, both person- ally and professionally, every once in a while those things intersect. “I hope that by sharing my own excitement about joining this
community, others will reflect on their feelings about being a part of Springfield. In many ways this offers a renewal opportunity for all of us. “I bring to Springfield a high level of energy, enthusiasm, and a
strong work ethic,” she says. “My past experiences at a wide variety of institutions as a member of the senior administration, coupled with my research interests—including student safety and issues impacting student-athletes—make me a unique leader for Springfield College.”
TRIANGLE 1 Vol . 84, No. 3
And, her aforementioned passion for the YMCA as a personal interest for the past 15 years adds to the value she intends to bring to the already strong Springfield community. “It will be different for Springfield to have a female president, but I
think the spotlight on gender will dissipate as the community gets to know me better,” she concludes. “All of us wear many hats at home and in the work place, but sharing a common desire to make Springfield its best will be what bonds us together.”1
Editor’s note: Full inaugural coverage will appear in the Winter 2014 Issue of Triangle.
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