Norwich University celebrates 50 years of women on campus

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Norwich University is celebrating a historic milestone this weekend - the 50th anniversary of women living on the Northfield campus and joining the Corps of Cadets.

Norwich was one of the first senior military colleges to admit women in 1972, but they did not live on campus until 1974. At the time, 71 women joined a campus of 900 men.

On Thursday, the university's Sullivan Museum and History Center unveiled a new exhibit, "Women Kicking Glass: The Pioneering Spirit of Norwich Women," which celebrates alumni that have made strides in the military, public, or private sectors.

Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations Diane Scolaro has helped research these women over the past two years. "Norwich University alumni, in general, are very humble and so their stories are not well known, and I think that's particularly very true of our women. So the greatest thing that has come out of this project is we've learned so much about Norwich women, their accomplishments, the firsts that they've done. We call them trailblazers or glass kickers, beacuse of the things that they've done. But for 50 years we haven't collected that information as well as we've wanted to," Scolaro said.

In conjunction with the anniversary, a scholarship - called Women Kicking Glass - has been set up to help future generations of women attend Norwich. It will be available to students starting the 2025-26 school year.