Dr. Margaret Bell

Dr. Margaret Bell strove to make women’s athletics as inclusive as possible and increase the number of opportunities for women. Dr. Bell encouraged women to “make it your aim to develop athletics as a hobby."¹ She recognized that not every student was willing to participate in arduous physical activity, and pushed both traditional sports like basketball in addition to dancing. Dr. Bell noted, “If a woman doesn’t like hockey, she may find that dancing will just satisfy her particular nature."² Folk, modern, and other forms of dance were included in the Women’s Athletic Association’s programs, in addition to hiking and outdoor recreation.

1. University of Michigan, "Official Program and Newsletter of the Sixth National Conference, Athletic Conference of American College Women" (Ann Arbor, 1930), 14.  

2. Ibid.