Political Science Celebrates 100 Years

Peterson Hall, originally called the Education Building, was the first home of the Department of Political Science.

Here are some of the major milestones in the department’s 100-year history:

1913

Department of Political Science established

1918

First political science undergraduate degree awarded

1921

First graduate student enrolled in political science program

1927

First female graduate student enrolled

1948

Twenty of the twenty-seven political science students enrolled at this time were World War II veterans

1954

First PhD awarded

1968

First PhD awarded to a female student

1960

First female faculty member (Joyce Mitchell)

1995

First female department head (Deborah Baumgold)

2012

UO hires Yvette Alex-Assensoh as vice president for equity and inclusion; she is tenured in the Department of Political Science. In 2014, she will teach a new course in the department, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and the Civil Rights Movement.

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