The Cooke Hall lobby was the scene of history and memories on October 16 when 15 members of the Women’s Physical Education Alumni Association (WPEAA) gathered for a reception to celebrate a display case dedicated to the remarkable history of the ground-breaking organization.

The WPEAA, which disbanded in September 2016, was one of the longest-running student organizations on campus. The original directory dates back to the mid-1930s. The organization, which at various times numbered in the hundreds, was made up of a strong, supportive group of graduates who nurtured young women entering the field of physical education at a time when there were strict constraints on female participation in competitive sports. In the years before Title IX, the group fought hard for equal rights on the playing field. They raised scholarship money by organizing rummage sales and collecting money each year at their annual Homecoming Breakfast. And they stayed close as friends and colleagues for decades after they graduated.

When the group disbanded, they donated a number of artifacts to the School. Carol Nielsen, Kinesiology staff member, created the display case which features a timeline of the history of women’s physical education at the U of M and various items from the past, including a blazer and a pair of tap-dancing shoes. (Yes, Tap Dancing was a curriculum requirement for the program at one time!)

School of Kinesiology director Beth Lewis, Ph.D., and associate director Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., offered remarks at the ceremony.

The group ended the Cooke Hall event with an enthusiastic rendition of the Minnesota Rouser shown in the video below–just as they always did at each Homecoming Breakfast.