The first female to join Texas A&M University at the rank of full professor with tenure has died.
Dr. Betty Unterberger taught history for 36 years between 1968 and 2004. She and her husband retired in College Station.
Patti Urbina was one of her undergraduate students 30 years ago who later became a personal friend.
Urbana says Unterberger took pride in the significance of her hiring in 1968.
According to an online article from the A&M College of Liberal Arts:
In 1968, when her husband received an offer to teach in the Department of Geophysics at Texas A&M, Unterberger was at first reluctant to make the move. A meeting with the vice president for academic affairs, Horace R. Byers, and then-President General Earl Rudder changed her mind. Byers offered her a position as a full professor and asked her to help internationalize the history department and build a graduate program. Unterberger accepted, becoming the first female in a full professorship at a formerly all-male college.
Patti Urbina visits with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.
A Facebook page has been established for friends, colleagues, and former students to post comments.
A memorial service will be held Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. on campus at the All Faiths Chapel.