On a foundation built by women who journeyed from France in the mid-1800s, one of whom would become Indiana’s first saint, to found an academy in Indiana’s wilderness, it’s not hard to believe that the alumni of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College would go on to do amazing things.
And so, they have.
If you type “famous women of SMWC” into your Google browser, you are sure to get a long list of prominent women with a connection to The Woods. From Saint Mother Theodore Guerin to others who are actively making a difference in the world at this moment, in this time – state senators, authors, opera singers, scientists, advocates and many more who have committed their lives to making an impact in the world.
As we celebrate women’s history month, let’s take a moment to pause and acknowledge a few of those remarkable women, who blazed trails and made their way into the history books, or rather, the Google search bar.
The following represents a brief list, highlights of notable women, who made their mark and left an impression during the long history of the institution:
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin (1798-1856) journeyed in 1840 from her convent in Ruille-sur-Loir, France, to establish an academy for women in the wilderness of Indiana. For more than a decade, from 1841 to 1852, the Academy was the only Catholic boarding school for girls in Indiana. Mother Theodore Guerin was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 1998 and canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic church on October 15, 2006, by Pope Benedict XVI. Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, a woman of strong courage and faith, is known to students as “Mama Teddy” and remains the foundation for which the educational mission of the institution continues to this day.
Elizabeth Booth Tarkington (1833-1909), a Terre Haute native, was mother to one of Indiana’s favorite authors of the early 20th century, Booth Tarkington, and for the tribute written by him to “Old St. Mary’s” which penned immortalized her and the school. According to the 1918 Les Bois annual, Tarkington and this essay were required reading by many students at the College.
Marie Louise Andrews (1849–1891) was an American author and editor, who founded the Western Association of Writers. Although she wrote verse and prose, she never published her works in book form, however little of her works remain.
Alice Moore McComas (1850–1919) was an American reformer and pioneer suffragist, serving as president of the Los Angeles Equal Suffrage Association. McComas was well known throughout the west as an educator and lecturer, accredited with being the first woman to conduct a department for women in a daily paper in California and the first woman to address a state Republican ratification meeting. She was an early organizer of the Free Kindergarten Association and of clubs for working women and was prominent in many movements for civic welfare.
Amalia Küssner Coudert (1863–1932) was an American artist from Terre Haute, best known for her portrait miniatures of prominent American and European figures of the late 19th and early 20th century. Subjects for her paintings include King Edward VII of the British Royal Family and Czar Nicholas II and his wife, Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna, at the Winder Palace in Russia. In 1891, she became famous for her miniature portrait work in New York, reported making more than 200 portraits on small oval discs of ivory between one and three inches of notable individuals. Some of her work is on display at the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute.
Mary Fendrick Hulman ’23 (1905-1998) was matriarch of the Hulman Family and Chairman of the board of Hulman & Company, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR. She became known around the world for the saying, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” at the running of the Indianapolis 500. She and her husband, Anton “Tony” Hulman, were prominent philanthropists, donating funds to name Hulman Hall, formerly the science building at SMWC, Hulman Center at Indiana State University and rename Rose Polytechnic Institute to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute.
Jean Wilkowski, Ambassador ’41 (1919-2016) entered U.S. Foreign Service in 1944 and rose through the ranks at the Department of State, from Vice Consul to the first woman U.S. Ambassador to an African country and the first woman acting U.S. Ambassador in Latin America during an era when few women sought professional careers. During her 35-year career, Wilkowski specialized in protecting and promoting U.S. trade and investment interests in such posts as Paris, Milan, Rome, Santiago and Geneva. She also served during a revolution in Bogotá, attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa and the war between El Salvador and Honduras, when she called in U.S. humanitarian aid for 50,000 war-displaced persons. She authored, “Abroad for Her Country: Tales of a Pioneer Woman Ambassador in the U.S. Foreign Service.”
Jeanne Knoerle, SP, ’49 (1928-2013) president of the College from 1968-1983, pioneered distance education at The Woods, and in 1973, launched the Women’s External Degree (WED) program as a way to educate women who could not attend college in a traditional way. Maintaining its signature forward momentum, WED became the Woods External Degree program when it admitted its first male student in 2005. Knoerle recognized the value of the program to men and vocally supported their inclusion. In 2011, WED merged with the College’s accelerated online program to form Woods Online, solidifying SMWC’s tradition of innovation. Her interest in Asian literature led her to Providence College in Taichung, Taiwan where she served as a Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor. Knoerle received honorary doctorate degrees from six Indiana colleges and universities, including Indiana State University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Mari Hulman George (1934-2018) was chairwoman of Hulman and Company and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Mari followed in the footsteps of her parents, Mary Fendrich and Anton “Tony” Hulman, as a philanthropist, making a transformational gift in 1989 to establish one of SMWC’s signature programs, the Mari Hulman George School of Equine Studies. She was also passionate about supporting the arts, animals and auto racing. She received an honorary degree in 1997 from the College.
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