Women's History Month 2021 - Dudley Knox Library
CDR Frances Biadasz
Cmdr. Frances Biadasz became NPS’ only, and likely first, female instructor in 1963, teaching courses in International Relations and International Communism. Biadasz had a remarkable naval career filled with firsts. In 1958, she worked as Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Arleigh A. Burke. Later that same year, Biadasz received her PhD in International Relations from Georgetown University and earned Georgetown’s “Gold Key,” its highest academic honor. In the picture above, Biadasz presents mentor Burke with her Gold Key as a token of her appreciation for his “long and consistent support of graduate instruction for naval officers in the field of International Relations”.
Read a full interview with Cmdr. Biadasz in “The Classmate” available in Calhoun, the NPS Archive.
November 2015 by Irene Berry
NPS Trailblazers
Click each picture for more information.
Nancy Elizabeth Brown
Principal advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on all C4 systems matters, graduated NPS 1982.
Lillian E. Fishburne
First African-American female to hold the rank of Rear Admiral, graduated NPS 1982.
Fran McKee
First female line officer to hold the rank of Rear Admiral (1976), attended NPS 1956.
Kathleen Paige
Former Program Director, Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), graduated NPS 1976.
Patricia Ann Tracey
First women to attain the rank of Vice Admiral, graduated NPS 1980.
Jan Tighe
Former NPS Interim President and Distinguished Alumni, graduated NPS in 2001.
Cathy Lanier
First female Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department for the District of Columbia, graduated NPS in 2005.
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Books
Ritchie, Elspeth Cameron ; Naclerio, Anne L 2015
Bell, Jerri ; Crow, Tracy ; Williams, Kayla; Jerri Bell ; Tracy Crow 2017
Zeigler, Sara L.; Gunderson, Gregory G. 2005
Bellafaire, Judith 2011
Tasker, Yvonne 2011
Other Interesting Resources
Allen, Stefanie V.
Female Officer Retention in the Marine Corps:An Exploratory Study of Early Supervisors and Mentors. 2018. Master’s thesis.
Baral, Bhumi Bhakta.
Integrating Women in the Armed Forces: Two Ways Forward. 2018. Master’s thesis.
Ceralde, Clinton T. and Christopher S. Czepiel.
Maximizing Female Retention in the Navy. 2014. Master’s thesis. Outstanding Thesis Award