We Few, We Academic Sisters

Starting in 1967, a time when fewer than 1% of women completed any education beyond four years of college, the Washington State University (WSU) Sociology Department dared to hire three female faculty members who became supportive lifelong friends: Lois B. DeFleur, Sandra Ball-Rokeach, and Marilyn Ihinger-Tallman. Each served as a role model and paved the way for those who followed.

In chronologically based chapters, the three colleagues discuss their childhoods, educational and research efforts, personal lives, and career advancements. They note major influences, share what they learned, and acknowledge assistance they received along the way. Though all married professors, they fought to be known as individual scholars, overcoming quotas, nepotism rules, sexual discrimination and harassment, and intense societal pressure to follow traditional female roles. Each also faced significant personal challenges: balancing family life, divorce, cancer diagnoses, the illness of a partner.

These trailblazers' impressive careers parallel larger national events and the onset of increasing opportunities for women. Initially associate or assistant professors, all became full professors when it was exceedingly rare. Dr. DeFleur later held positions as dean, provost, and university president. Dr. Ball-Rokeach gained international status as a major media sociologist, and Dr. Ihinger-Tallman became WSU's first female chair of the Sociology Department. Their inspiring stories highlight the importance of community and offer meaningful guidance to current women academics.