Spartan Lawyer Summer 2019
In Her Own Words: An Incomplete History of Women at the Law College
When the Law College opened its doors on St. Antoine Street in 1891, visitors to its austere lecture room would’ve been surprised to see a young woman reading law alongside her 30 male classmates.
The author of “Women Lawyers of Detroit” in a 1906 issue of the Detroit Free Press described his three subjects (one of whom was McSweeney) as “soft of voice, gentle in manner, and dainty and feminine in dress,” reminding the reader that his subjects were women first, and lawyers second.6 But McSweeney herself would have the last word, making her commitment to her work evident above all.
“We women who spend our days in the whirl of the business world appreciate home life in a way that no other woman can understand,” she said. “When I leave my office at night I cannot hurry fast enough to reach the coziness and seclusion of my home. Oh yes, I’ll confess that I’m eager for work when the morning comes, because my work is the dearest thing in the world to me.”7
Milestones for Women at the Law College
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1891
The Law College welcomed its inaugural class of approximately 30 students, including one woman.
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1912
Miss Mabel Griffiths, described as “brilliant” by the Detroit Free Press, was the Law College’s first woman valedictorian.
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1920
The Law College started its first student organization for women law students.
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1922
Barbara F. Keene became the first black woman in Michigan to graduate from law school.
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1922
Law College trustees decided to stop accepting women students; they permitted current students to complete their degrees.
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1923
Grayce Costavas Murphy, ’23, became the first black woman to be admitted to the state bar and to practice in Michigan.
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1936
Emelia Christine Schaub, ’24, was the first woman in Michigan to be elected as a county prosecutor.
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1942
The ban on female students was lifted, and women were once again allowed to enroll.
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1948
Elizabeth M. Gallagher was hired as a librarian; she would eventually become the Law College’s first female teacher.
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1980
Kathleen Payne, ’77, was the first alumna hired to the full-time faculty.
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2008
Joan W. Howarth was hired as the first woman Dean of the Law College.
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2008
Hannah Bobee (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe) and Nova Wilson (Navajo Nation) are the first Native women graduates of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center.
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2013
Linda M. Orlans, ’87, became the first female Chair of the Law College Board of Trustees.
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2015
For the first time, students who identify as female made up 50% of the incoming class.
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2019
Gretchen Whitmer, ’98, is sworn in as governor of Michigan, the first Law College graduate to hold that elected office.
These career-minded graduates paved the way for future generations. Women like Grayce Murphy, who graduated in 1923, would start gradually building a place for women in the legal profession. Murphy was both the first black woman to be admitted to the state bar and the first black woman lawyer to practice in Michigan.8
Personally, I'm Tired of This Question
The Law College’s inclusive founding principles are well-known to generations of alumni. But the then-trustees’ decision to abruptly reverse course is less familiar to today’s students and graduates. In 1922, the trustees barred women from acceptance, blaming their decision on a lack of appropriate facilities.9