Vassar Quarterly - Fall 2017 - 37

Beyond Vassar

At Fall 2017 Convocation, AAVC President Missie
Rennie Taylor '68; Distinguished Alumnae/i
Awardee Sissy Farenthold '46, P'75; President
Bradley; Young Alumnae/i Awardee Maggie
O'Haire'08; and Alumnae/i Recognition Chair
Sharon Davidson Chang '84 P'19

Michele Tugade '95, who directs the
Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory
at Vassar College, as an inspiration. While
at Vassar, O'Haire pursued independent
psychology projects focused on human-

animal bonds and created her own internship at the nearby Green Chimneys School,
which uses animal-assisted therapy for
emotionally, behaviorally, and socially
challenged children.
After graduating, she traveled to Australia
on a Fulbright Scholarship, earning a
doctorate in psychology from the University
of Queensland in 2014. Back in the U.S., she
obtained a tenure track position at Purdue,
where she has pursued her groundbreaking
research. She is one of the few who specifically teach anthrozoology, an emerging,
interdisciplinary field that focuses on
human-animal interaction. Her studies-
done in collaboration with the Organization
for Human-Animal Interaction Research
(yes, its acronym is OHAIRE)-focuses on how
children with autism and military veterans
with post-traumatic stress disorder can
benefit greatly from interspecies interactions.
This year, the longstanding AAVC Award
for Distinguished Achievement was presented
to Frances "Sissy" Tarlton Farenthold '46,
P'75, a pioneer in politics. One of AAVCs most
prestigious honors, the award recognizes an
alumna or alumnus who has reached the
highest level in her or his field. While
demonstrating exceptional talent, application, creativity, and skill within a certain
career, this individual must also exemplify
the ideals of a liberal arts education, and
have used her or his visibility, power, or
leadership to better the human community
and serve the wider goals of society.
When the Texas native was elected to
the State Legislature almost 50 years ago,
she became the only woman member of the
Texas House.
"As we sit here, in 2017, there are 21 women
who are United States Senators and 84 women
in the U.S. House of Representatives, and
thousands of women hold state and local
offices across the country," AAVC President
Milbrey "Missie" Rennie Taylor '68 told
students at Convocation. It's easy to forget
that this wasn't always the case, she noted.
Farenthold helped pave the way.
After graduating from Vassar, she earned
her law degree from the University of Texas.
She began her career in politics in 1960,
campaigning on behalf of John F. Kennedy
for president. Farenthold was motivated by
her observation of her own country's system

of "apartheid"-specifically, the separation
and exclusion of African American and
Latinos from full participation in society.
During her four years in the State Legislature,
beginning in 1968, she promoted civil and
women's rights; co-sponsored the Equal
Rights Amendment with State Senator
Barbara Jordan; supported environmental
protection; and opposed the governor's
efforts to expel people who were registering
Mexican Americans to vote.
In an on-campus presentation in September, she credited the "stick-to-it-iveness"
she honed at Vassar for helping her to stand
up to the male legislators who were determined to see her fail. But her legislative
post came to an end after she joined other
representatives in demanding an investigation into corruption involving fellow lawmakers. In retaliation, her opponents redrew
the electoral district boundaries, eliminating
her district.
Undaunted, Farenthold set her sight on
loftier goals. She ran for governor-twice. Her
boldness brought her to national attention,
and in the wake of her first campaign, her
name was placed in nomination for vice
president of the United States at the 1972
Democratic National Convention in Miami.
Placing second, she was the first woman
to be a serious candidate for the nomination,
a historic breakthrough that helped make
it possible for other women to achieve major
party nominations-most recently, for
president.
Farenthold went on to co-found the
National Women's Political Caucus; serve
as the president of Wells College; establish
the Public Leadership Education Network to
support increased representation of women
in government; open her own law firm;
and teach at the University of Houston. She
has continued to support a wide variety of
humanitarian causes and has served as
a human rights observer around world.
"At Vassar, we pride ourselves on being
pioneers and trailblazers," the AAVC
president said, as she welcomed Farenthold
to the stage. "You have, indisputably, used
your visibility, your power, your leadership
to better the human community, and serve
the wider goals of society. ... Thank you for
leading the way."
-Elizabeth Randolph
VA S S A R Q U A R T E R lY

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vassar Quarterly - Fall 2017