During Women's History Month, it is worth noting that NMU's History Department was led by two trailblazing women who served as department head. The first was Catherine Maxwell, who taught from 1904 until her death in 1918. Ruth Roebke-Berens was the second woman to fill the role, from 1981-88.
According to History Professor Emeritus Russ Magnaghi, Maxwell was born in Michigan in 1862 to parents who had emigrated from Ireland.
“She was hired to teach history at $1,200 per year and took over as department head in place of Dwight Waldo, the first professor of history and president of what was then Northern State Normal School. Waldo left to assume the presidency of Western Michigan University, so Maxwell was hired. She also served as dean of women. Catherine died in 1918 on a trip to Chicago.”
Roebke-Berens earned her doctorate at Marquette University. She specialized in European history, particularly related to Germany. Her career at NMU spanned 22 years, with seven of those spent as department head. Magnaghi worked alongside her.
“She was always advocating on behalf of students and concerned about the direction they were going in,” he said. “She was very sociable and highly energized. Ruth was on the cutting edge, developing a number of new programs for students. These included a master's degree in foreign policy that was offered at the former Air Force base, and the living history program at Fort Wilkins State Park in Copper Harbor. She also served as an administrative assistant to former president Appleberry. Ruth loved cats and always dressed to the nines.”
Women's History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981, when Congress passed legislation proclaiming the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women's History Week.” It expanded to a month-long event five years later.
Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women's History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.