June 2013 marks the centennial of the Department of Political Science at the UO. Peterson Hall, originally called the Education Building, was the first home of the department.

Here are some of the major milestones in the department’s 100-year history:

1913: Department of Political Science established

1918: First political science undergraduate degree awarded

1921: First graduate student enrolled in political science program

1927: First female graduate student enrolled

1948: 20 of the 27 political science students enrolled at this time were World War II veterans

1954: First PhD awarded

1968: First PhD awarded to a female student

1960: First female faculty member (Joyce Mitchell)

1995: First female department head (Deborah Baumgold)

2012: UO hires Yvette Alex-Assensoh as vice president for equity and inclusion; she is tenured in the Department of Political Science. In 2014, she will teach a new course in the department, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and the Civil Rights Movement.
- by UO Office of Strategic Communications