First Ladies Gallery
Since Kansas State College for Agriculture and Applied Science was founded in 1863, there have been 15 presidents and first ladies.
The idea for a gallery was proposed by former K-State President Jon Wefald to acknowledge the important role and impact these women have had at K-State. The gallery highlights the lives of the first ladies. Although they had unique qualities and backgrounds, each first lady possess many of the same admirable characteristics: they represented the university with dignity and were leaders in many campus and community organizations.
The gallery is located on the second floor of Hale Library.
Frances (Osborne) Dennis Denison 1863-1873 Ann "Nannie" Taylor (Foote) Anderson 1873-1879 Charlotte Pearl (Halsted) Fairchild 1879-1897 Marie Van Velsor (Rogers) Will 1897-1899 Marguerite (Rae) Nichols 1899-1909 Margaret Ward (Watson) Waters 1909-1917 Effie Lane (Nebecker) Jardine 1918-1925 Mildred (Jenson) Farrell 1925-1943 Helen Elsie (Eakin) Eisenhower 1943-1950 Janet McLean (Henry) McCain 1950-1975 Shirley (Hansen) Acker 1975-1986 Ruth Ann (Joynt) Wefald 1986-2009 Noel (Nunnally) Schulz 2009-2016 Mary Jo (Rupp) Myers 2016-2022 Sally Linton 2022-Present
Frances Ann Osborne-Dennis was the widow of a Methodist missionary when she met Reverend Joseph Denison. She then became a pastor’s wife, the president’s wife at both Kansas State Agricultural College and Baker University, a mother and stepmother to 11 siblings, and a grandmother raising grandchildren when a daughter died.
A believer in suffrage for women and African Americans, she farmed; provided room, board and clothing for students; and donated money to the struggling new college. She was recognized as a true pioneer of the prairie, a tireless volunteer and the first, first lady of KSAC.
Ann Taylor Foote, orphaned at age four, was raised by her maternal aunt. She and her childhood friend, Presbyterian minister John Anderson, were married in 1864. As a young bride, she nursed Civil War soldiers in New York before coming to KSAC. While on campus, she offered her kitchen as a lab for women majoring in domestic science. Her example was followed by Mrs. Fairchild, who organized campus and community women offering their kitchens for the Domestic Science Club.
Mrs. Anderson’s tact and graciousness aided reorganization efforts at the college. She later served as a Congressional spouse, living in Washington, D.C., and raising three sons.
Charlotte Pearl Halsted boarded in the home of the president of Oberlin College in Ohio while attending. It was there she met the president's youngest son, George Thompson Fairchild. The couple married in 1863 and moved to Lansing, where Charlotte became a faculty wife at Michigan Agricultural College. In 1879, Mrs. Fairchild became the first college graduate to be first lady of KSAC.
She is recognized as one of the founders of the Domestic Science Club, which recruited local women to open their homes for students to practice their skills until the college had sufficient facilities for the students.
Mrs. Fairchild was the mother of five children and, following their time at KSAC, the couple moved to Berea College in Kentucky.
Marie Van Velsor Rogers met Thomas Will, a Harvard student, when he attended services at her father's church in Boston. They married and moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, where she became a faculty wife at Lawrence University and raised two children. When Professor Will was hired to teach economics at KSAC, she moved to Manhattan. She joined the Domestic Science Club and entertained on campus and in the community with her lovely singing voice. She served as first lady of KSAC and Ruskin College in Trenton, Missouri, where she had her third child. She subsequently followed her spouse to Washington, D.C., and Florida.
Marguerite Rae, a teacher, met Ernest Nichols while both attended Iowa Normal, today the University of Northern Iowa at Cedar Falls. They married and moved to Manhattan in 1890.
Mrs. Nichols was a faculty wife, mother, volunteer teacher, member of the Domestic Science Club and the State Federation of Kansas Women’s Clubs, and first lady of KSAC for ten years. She hosted a reception for the senior women each year, in addition to one for the entire graduating class. The couple, who often rode a tandem bicycle around town, eventually retired to Chicago where they managed a teacher’s agency.
Margaret Ward Watson met Henry Waters, dean of agriculture at the University of Missouri, at a social in Columbia, Missouri, where she resided. She had one son and, as a faculty wife, was active in community preservation. Upon their move to KSAC, she began the Social Club to facilitate faculty interaction. The club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011. She endeared herself to students by getting the ban against dancing on campus lifted.
Upon their departure from Manhattan, the couple lived on the Plaza in Kansas City while Dr. Waters wrote for the Kansas City Star. She spent her last days back in Columbia running the family newspaper, which she had been instrumental in purchasing.
Effie Lane Nebeker met William Jardine when they were students at Utah State. The couple had three children. They came to campus when Jardine was hired as an agronomy professor who rose to dean of agriculture and then president of KSAC. They influenced the design of and were the first to live in the president’s residence in 1923. Mrs. Jardine was the first lady at both KSAC and Wichita State.
In Manhattan, she became president of the Social Club and initiated a student loan fund. The club raised money with a reading by visiting poet, Carl Sandburg. Dr. Jardine was appointed Secretary of Agriculture by President Coolidge. After her duties as a cabinet member’s wife, Mrs. Jardine hosted dignitaries in Cairo when her husband was appointed as Minister to Egypt. Thus, she served campus, community, state and nation during her lifetime.
Mildred Leona Jenson met Francis David Farrell in Utah, where she was attending preparatory school and he was attending Utah State College. The couple married and moved to Manhattan when Francis became the dean of agriculture at KSAC. He became president in 1925. The couple had two children; Mrs. Farrell was the only first lady to have a baby during her tenure. She was an avid gardener, active in the Social Club, the Domestic Science Club, AAUW and Pi Beta Phi.
She contributed to the Girl Scouts Little House, purchased reading and recreational material for Fort Riley soldiers, and started a group for faculty mothers. She served as first lady for nearly two decades during the difficult years of the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II. After her husband retired in 1943, they remained in Manhattan.
Helen Elsie Eakin, a Manhattan native, met Milton Eisenhower while both attended Kansas State University. They married shortly after and moved back to Manhattan when Milton became president of K-State in 1943. As first lady, Mrs. Eisenhower was honorary president of the Social Club and concentrated on making a home for her family. She made all of the sweaters worn by Milton and her two children, and she embroidered a K-State flag that hung in Anderson Hall for many years. John Scheepers developed a tulip after Mrs. Eisenhower called the “Miss Helen Eakin” tulip, which won the Calvin Coolidge Gold Medal at the National Flower Show in 1947.
After K-State, she followed her husband to Pennsylvania, where she served as first lady at Pennsylvania State University and was active in planning an All-Faiths Chapel, which was named for her following her death.
Janet McLean Henry, a dancer, met James McCain, an instructor, when she attended Colorado A&M. They married and moved to California and, later, to Washington, D.C., for James' work. It was there that their only child, Stella, was born. Mrs. McCain was first lady of Montana State before James accepted the presidency at Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in 1950. Mrs. McCain remained first lady for 25 years and was an excellent hostess to speakers and researchers, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Truman Capote.
As a member of the Social Club, she began the tradition of a spring luncheon for new and retiring board members. She was also a member of P.E.O. and instrumental in founding a local chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. The couple eventually retired to Topeka where James was appointed to Commissioner of Labor for the State of Kansas.
Shirley Hansen, a 4-H member, met Duane Acker at a county fair. After marrying, Shirley had two daughters and served as the wife of a graduate student, faculty member and administrator on five campuses before assuming her role as first lady. She helped refurbish the president’s residence, named the street which leads to it, housed students there, and entertained large groups of students, faculty and visitors. Besides the traditional memberships in the Domestic Science Club and the Social Club, she was active in 4-H, P.E.O., Civic Theatre, Arts Council, the League of Women Voters, the Manhattan Book Club and both hospitals. Although already an accomplished china painter, Shirley also took art classes. Upon leaving Kansas, she worked as a White House volunteer during the Reagan and Bush administrations before retiring to farm in Iowa.
Ruth Ann Joynt met Jon Wefald at the University of Michigan where both were graduate students. The couple married, had two sons and settled in Minnesota. Mrs. Wefald was appointed assistant commissioner of the Department of Economic Security’s Community Service Division for her efforts on behalf of rural women. She also served as first lady at Southwest State University.
Mrs. Wefald began fundraising for the future Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and continued with dance, the girls’ row team and the Foreign Student Center. She was active in the Domestic Science Club, the Social Club, the Manhattan Book Club, P.E.O., the Flint Hills Bread Basket and the Christian Science Reading Room. In 1997, she was named Citizen of the Year, and in 2002, she was elected president of the National Association of State Universities’ and Land Grant Colleges’ Council of Presidents’ and Chancellors’ Spouses.
Dr. Schulz became the first lady in 2009. In 2012, she became associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Engineering and was the director of the Electrical Power Affiliates Program and the recipient of the LeRoy and Aileen Paslay Professorship in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Dr. Schulz was actively involved in recruiting and retaining women in engineering, faculty development and encouraging international experiences in education. She advanced faculty development activities and the graduate student program in the College of Engineering. She is the wife of Kirk Schulz.
Mary Jo (Rupp) Myers earned a bachelor's degree in English from K-State in 1964. She was an educator in secondary and adult education and, prior to her retirement, served as the associate director of public affairs at Hayes and Associates.
Married to Richard B. Myers, university president and four-star general, Mrs. Myers has been heavily involved in local, national and international public service throughout her life. She has served on the Women's Initiative Policy Advisory Council; the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation; the Fisher House Foundation Board of Trustees; the National Military Family Association Advisory Council; the Aschiana Foundation, as founder and president emeritus; and the MediSend Advisory Board, amongst others. Her long list of awards and honors includes The Spirit of the USO Award and the National Defense University's American Spirit Award.
Sally Linton hails from northern Indiana. After earning a degree from Indiana University in marketing and management, with minors in psychology and sociology, she headed to Purdue University to earn a Master of Business Administration and a master's in agribusiness.
A career that began in the management of U.S. Department of Agriculture grants shifted to leading the marketing and public relation efforts for the Indiana wine industry. She became a certified Kindermusik teacher and spent a few years teaching preschool. Later, Linton built her own ADHD and executive function coaching business. She has a deep passion for helping others, reducing the stigma around mental health and offering a safe, judgment-free space for her clients. She is the wife of Richard Linton.
Biographical information on the First Ladies was provided by Dr. Michaeline Chance-Reay, author of Land Grant Ladies: Kansas State University Presidential Wives, and K-State Libraries staff.