Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame


The Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to history of the U.S. state of Tennessee.

History

The organization was founded and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2010 to recognize accomplished women who have impacted the development of the state of Tennessee and improved the status of other women. It is the brainchild of the Women's Economic Council Foundation, Inc. and the Tennessee Economic Council on Women.

Criteria

The criteria for induction into the Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame is that women were born in and achieved recognition within the state; are or have a resident in Tennessee for an extended period of time or adopted Tennessee as their home state. Additional criteria includes women who,:
The hall inducts new members annually or bi-annually and includes both contemporary and historical women or organizations which benefit women.
NameImageBirth–DeathYearArea of achievement
2015First career Air Force woman appointed to the Senior Executive Service and served as the Women's Program Coordinator.
2015Founder of the Knoxville Female Institute and the Tennessee Suffrage Association
:de:Elizabeth Rona|2015First woman to teach chemistry in any university in Hungary, in the United States, she served on the Manhattan Project
2015First woman Chief Justice of Tennessee
2015Founder of the Greater Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce, and co-founder, publisher and journalist of Perry & Perry Publishing Company
2015One of the inaugural group of women astronauts of NASA
2015Chair and founder of the American Muslim Council of Tennessee
20151987 Tennessee Teacher of the Year and first Tennessee Teacher-Scholar of the National Endowment for the Humanities
2013Co-founded Shipley & Behm, the first all-woman law firm in Nashville
2013First woman Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of East Tennessee State University
2013First African American to hold an appointed and elected statewide position in the Tennessee State Federation of Democratic Women
2013President of the University of Memphis
2013Founder of Magdalene House
2013Orchestrated an interfaith and inter-racial group response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
2011Most all-time wins for a coach in NCAA basketball history of either a men's or women's team in any division
2010First Tennessee woman to be appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
2010First woman to win a statewide election in Tennessee