March is National Women’s History Month. To celebrate, take some time to recognize a few of the extraordinary women that have called the University of Tennessee their home.
Pat Summitt
Patricia (Pat) Susan Summitt not only broke the record of the most wins in college basketball history, but she also won the hearts of the Volunteer family.
Summitt joined UT as head coach for the Lady Vols basketball team in 1974 and led the team to eight NCAA championships before retiring in 2012.
Summitt also accrued a silver medal for basketball in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal; she even returned to the Olympics as head coach for the women’s basketball team in 1984 and brought back a gold medal.
Summitt was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 and received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2012. Summit passed in June of 2016 and is missed dearly by the Volunteer family.
Lisa Boothe
Lisa Marie Boothe graduated from UTK in 2007 and is now an influential journalist for Fox News. Boothe has over 100,000 followers on Instagram and is a returning panelist on “Outnumbered”and “The Five,” popular programs on the Fox News Channel.
By the age of 35, Boothe has proven herself to be a powerhouse in the political sphere. Her first job after graduation was as a staff assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives, and she later went on to write for the “Washington Examiner,” “The Washington Times” and “The Hill.”
Margaret Scobey
Margaret Scobey received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from UTK before completing her PhD in history at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Scobey went on to work under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama as the U.S. ambassador to Syria and the Arab Republic of Egypt. Prior to this, Scobey served as the deputy chief of mission at U.S. embassies in numerous middle eastern countries.
Scobey eventually retired and moved back to Tennessee but continued to be involved in the community. She serves on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Bridge Refugee Services that helps settle refugees into Chattanooga and Knoxville.
Carol Aebersold
Carol Aebersold is the co-creator of one of America’s favorite interactive holiday tales “The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.” Aebersold earned her B.S. in music education from UTK in 1970 and started a family shortly after her graduation. Aebersold chose to stay at home with her children and, by chance, created the Christmas story that would become a household name.
With over 13 million elves around the world and the number on a continuous climb, Aebersold proves creativity, trust and support from one’s family and friends can be the recipe to success. Aebersold now serves as a member of the UT Alliance of Women Philanthropists and sits on the UT Alumni Board of Directors.
Nancy-Ann Min DeParle
Nancy-Ann Min DeParle was not only the first female student body president at UTK, but she was also a member of the prestigious honor society Phi Beta Kappa, a member of Delta Gamma sorority and was a Phi Kappa Phi Scholar.
DeParle’s ambitious attitude was seen outside of the university as she went on to receive her B.A. in 1981 from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and earned her J.D. from Harvard in 1983.
After her impressive educational career, DeParle served as the White House deputy chief of staff for policy under President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2013.
