UK's First Woman Engineering Graduate

In 1916 Marguerite Ingels became UK's first woman engineering graduate. After college she had a long career with the Carrier Corporation retiring in 1952.  Ingels excelled as a student and endured the stereotypes that came with her college major and career choice.  

Ingels had become interested in the process of condensation as a young girl in her hometown of Paris, Kentucky and set out to learn as much as she could about science and engineering even before entering the University of Kentucky.  The Kentucky Alumnus reported that, "Miss Ingels completed the entire four years of the Engineering course, taking her turns in the forge shops and machine shop and doing the other duties of the engineer with the rest of the `boys,' never shirking a duty, however irksome."

Marguerite Ingels

Ingels was a source of fascination to many as a woman engineering major at the university.  During her sophomore year, while working in the blacksmith shop along with her fellow engineering students, a reporter observed her work.  He noted that "over her daintily embroidered, open-necked waist and her white skirt, she wore a very business- like leathern apron, which dropped to the top of her gunmetal pumps; pulled tightly down over a goodly quantity of wavy, dark brown hair, which persisted in peeping out, was a black sateen workman's cap."  

The attention to physical detail continued with the observation that Ingels was not of the "mannish" type.  Like others the reporter felt obliged to comment whether women in historically male endeavors were "ladylike" and added that, "She is medium height (about five feet two inches) and of slender figure.  She is really pretty; has large, intelligent gray eyes, the slightly tanned complexion of the outdoor girl and the long upper lip that denotes a poetical temperament and a love of ease and luxury.  But this feature is given the lie by the strength of her chin and the way she closes her mouth as she works."  

Machine shop instructor Joseph Dicker tried to exempt Ingels from the heavy parts of engineering work, "but she would not hear of it."  "She keeps pace with the best of her classmates and asks odds of no one.  The contour that her tanned arm displays when she grasps the sledge handle shows that she can suit the deed to the will."  

When asked whether she supported women's suffrage Ingels reportedly replied, "Yes, don't you?"  However, the reporter concluded the article by asserting that Ingels seemed "too absorbed in her work to worry about Votes for Women."

Additional information about the history of women students, faculty, and staff can be found in the recently published, Our Rightful Place: A History of Women at the University of Kentucky, 1880-1945.

https://www.kentuckypress.com/9780813179377/our-rightful-place/    

Use the code FAU25 for 25% off. 

"Willie T" @ 21

 



UK Libraries main library, the William T. Young Library, will soon celebrate its 21st birthday.  It is recognized as one of the outstanding university library buildings in the United States.  Over the past two decades, the library affectionately called "Willie T" by UK students, has become integral to student success.   

 

William T. Young, the library's namesake, was also once a UK student.  He was not known as "Willie T," but as "Billy" Young during his student days on campus.  An engineering major with a perfect standing in the college and one of the top ranking students in the University Military department, he served as president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.  He also was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi honorary engineering fraternity.

 

 

As a 21 year old UK senior in 1939, the Kentucky Kernel named "Billy" Young "Colonel of the Week" for being elected as UK's official delegate to the ODK National Convention at Washington and Lee University.

 

 

Kentucky Kernel, March 24, 1939

ExploreUK:  https://exploreuk.uky.edu/

 

 

 

 

Engineering and Science Libraries to merge

The Engineering Library will soon merge with the Science Library to become the Science and Engineering Library in the Margaret I. King Building. The current Engineering Library in Anderson Hall will be open to the public until 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 13, 2016. This should give Engineering Library users sufficient time to return borrowed materials and complete other library-related tasks.

During the summer the Engineering Library faculty, staff, and collections will relocate to the new Science and Engineering Library. The move should be completed well in advance of the beginning of the 2016 Fall semester. If you have questions or need additional information please contact Engineering librarian Sue Smith or the head of the new merged Science and Engineering Library Christie Peters.

UK Libraries participates in Engineers Day

A future engineer played "Giant Jenga" at E-Day

Shaver Engineering Library and the Transportation Library participated in the UK College of Engineering E-Day event on Saturday, February 27. E-Day is held annually on campus and is open to the public, with exhibits and activities promoting and demonstrating all aspects of engineering. Children are especially encouraged to learn more about engineering on E-Day. The Engineering and Transportation Libraries offered a "100 Cup Challenge," Giant Jenga, chess, and checkers in the Shaver Engineering Library.  Sue Smith, head of Shaver Engineering Library, Laura Whayne, head of the Transportation Library, senior library technician Jeffrey Dalrymple, graduate student intern Natalie Bishop, and undergraduate student worker Priscilla Landham all participated in the event.

UK Libraries welcomes students across campus

The Engineering Library welcomed new students.

During K-Week, UK Libraries reached out to students across campus through events sponsored by the Design, Engineering, and Education Libraries, as well as the International program.

The Design Library hosted 81 new Interior Design and Architecture students, who spent time looking at major reference resources in those fields and at some items from our Special Collections. In their exhibit case, the Design Library featured the plates from Charles Garnier’s four-volume work Nouvel Opera de Paris published in 1876. They also held a contest to identify six photographs of major architectural works; the winner received a Starbucks gift card.

The Education Library took part in the College of Education’s Education Fair on Tuesday, August 25. Several of the library’s student workers planned, decorated, and staffed a table inviting the

Nouvel Opera de Paris, 1876

incoming and transferring College of Education students to take a “shelfie” by holding a book cover with a face over their own in a Polaroid selfie. Martin Luther King, Jr., Theodore Roosevelt, Cleopatra, and Jimi Hendrix proved to be the most popular choices for the “shelfie.”

The Shaver Engineering Library greeted nearly 300 new students during the annual Engineering Student Council Freshman Fair. They promoted the library through written information, and held a week-long scavenger hunt with prizes from local businesses and vendors.

First year Engineering students learn about
UK Libraries

On August 23 UK Libraries invited the new international students to a special program in  William T. Young Library, "Getting to Know Willy T@the Library". The event consisted of a brief presentation on library services and an introduction to the building. Following the presentation, graduate assistants from Reference Services gave the students a tour of the building and answered individual questions. Most of the students attending were international graduate students new to UK. 

Students spend Alternative Spring Break gaining professional experience in D.C.

While some of their peers are headed to the beach, several graduate assistants and student interns from UK Libraries will be soaking up knowledge in Washington, D.C., as participants in Alternative Spring Break programs sponsored by the Smithsonian Libraries and the National Library of Medicine.

Teresa McGinley and Matthew Noe are student interns in the Medical Center Library. They will spend their week at the National Library of Medicine. Matthew will work on a project called “Evaluate PubMed Central’s Publisher Agreements.” Teresa will work on the project “Assessing NIH Public Access Compliance.”

Other students are headed to the Smithsonian Libraries. Margaret Roulett, book conservation student technician, business reference intern, and Colonial Dames intern in the Special Collections Research Center, will work in the Smithsonian Libraries Advancement Office. Carlee Cutchin, student intern in the Engineering Library, will also be at the Smithsonian working in Advancement. Anna Gault, Collections graduate assistant, will work at the Smithsonian Libraries in social media. Brittany Netherton, graduate assistant for reference in Young Library, will work at the Smithsonian Libraries on the Research Services project.

Students plan to Tweet and blog their experiences in D.C. Follow Teresa and Matthew at the NLM using their Twitter handles, @iramaseret and @NoetheMatt. Follow all the UK participants using the Twitter hashtag #asbuk2015.