The First Women of the Business School

By: Ellie Kaverman, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2018, Journalism, Bloomington

“Full-time women were practically nonexistent in the early history of the school, with exceptions such as Lulu Westenhaver, who was hired in 1920, and Esther Bray, hired by Herman B. Wells. Both were teachers of shorthand and typing.”—Indiana University Kelley School of Business: The First One Hundred Years of Education for Business 1902-2002

It all started with two names: Lulu Westenhaver and Esther Bray.

These names were the only mention of a female presence in the early days of Indiana University’s School of Commerce and Finance, which would eventually become today’s Kelley School of Business. The discussion of Lulu and Esther as “teachers of shorthand and typing” encompasses one sentence, but their impact on the business school was much more significant than just one sentence implies.

Lulu Westenhaver and Esther Bray were two influential figures and were part of a much greater legacy created by the women of the early business school.

Both women were on the business staff, Lulu as an instructor and Esther as one of the first female professors in the business school. Researching these two women led me to find Sarah Kirby, an instrumental secretary, and Blanche McNeely Wean, the first female admitted into the business school.

Together, these four women illustrate the stepping stone nature of female progression in the business and academic world of the 1920s and ‘30s.

Sarah Kirby began her work at IU in 1908 and was the first of the four women to begin at the university. She served the university as an administrative assistant for six different deans throughout her 38 years at the university.

In 1920, Sarah was appointed assistant to William Rawles, dean of the newly created School of Commerce and Finance. In her time between 1908 and 1946, she was responsible for assisting students who had served in World War I and II transfer credits and finish their education.

Sarah Kirby was a dedicated steward of the business school, once saying, “My door will always be open to anyone who was ever enrolled in the school of business… and I hope I have lots of company.” Later, in 1922, Sarah would serve as the catalyst for Blanche Wean’s business education.

Lulu Westenhaver graduated from the University of Wisconsin and began her teaching career at IU in 1920 as an instructor in the newly formed School of Commerce and Finance. She taught stenography, typewriting, and other secretarial courses; she wrote two lesson plan books on Gregg shorthand.

From 1923-1935, Lulu was a secretary for the school alongside Sarah Kirby, in addition to her teaching. Dedicated to the networking and camaraderie of the female business students, she founded Chi Gamma, a professional organization for only women in business at IU. Later, she sponsored Omicron Delta, another professional organization for only junior and senior women in the business school.

Lulu spent 28 years working at the business school, teaching and working for presumably classes of only men for the first two years before Blanche McNeely Wean was admitted into the school. She was an advocate for women, encouraging the professional careers of women as a charter member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club. Lulu was a member of eight different organizations dedicated to professional development and various teaching organizations.

She was a cornerstone in the education of business students. The resolutions committee, chaired by no other than Esther Bray, memorialized her with these words when she passed away in 1948: “Always striving for perfection, she was precise and exact in her own standards and in turn expected much from others… Miss Westenhaver contributed to the building of character and skill.”

Esther Bray spent her undergraduate career and most of her teaching career at Indiana University Bloomington. She received her undergraduate degree in 1927 and came back to the university to teach in 1937 at the request of President Herman B. Wells. She taught business education throughout her 34-year teaching career.

In 1971, she retired from the business school because she was appointed by Indiana governor Edgar Whitcomb to the Indiana Commission For Higher Education, serving on the commission for 21 years. When she retired, she was one of only two original members still serving on the commission.

At Indiana University, Esther was the only female on the business school faculty for many years, as instructors such as Westenhaver were not considered faculty at the time.

Esther was instrumental in the development of young women both in and out of the business school; as she even organized trips to the statehouse in Indianapolis for women to practice their stenography skills in a professional setting. She also served as a Girls State and Girls Nation lead volunteer and furthered the development of thousands of young women.

Esther was married to twelve-term Congressman William Bray, with whom she visited over 100 countries throughout their lives together. Esther was named a Herald-Times Woman of the Century when she was 96.

Her life was varied from politics to business to education, but her motive was the same: to encourage young women to aspire to achieve more with their lives than being a traditional, domestic ideal of a woman.

When Esther passed away in 1999, a faculty memorial resolution was passed in her honor, calling Esther a “role model for women” and “had the time been right, she would have been a congresswoman.”

“For many years, I was the only female on the staff. The department head would open our meetings by saying, ‘Mrs. Bray and gentlemen, shall we come to order?’” —Esther Bray

To read more about Esther Bray’s legacy, please visit https://blogs.iu.edu/bicentennialblogs/2018/10/17/the-enduring-legacy-of-esther-bray-educator-and-civic-leader/

The next logical step in the inclusion of women in the business school was for a woman to be admitted. In 1922, Blanche McNeely Wean became that person. She grew up in Bloomington and began her undergraduate education at Indiana University in 1919. She was originally studying to be a teacher, but had ambitions to join the business world, which stemmed from working in her father’s grocery store as a child. She shared her ambition with a male professor who told her that business was a man’s world.

She turned to Sarah Kirby, a secretary with whom she interacted with frequently, who encouraged her to ask Dean Rawles for admission into the school. In Blanche’s memoir, Blanche Accounts, she credits her admission into the school to Sarah Kirby. She says of her conversation with Dean Rawles, “He [Dean Rawles] looked at me in this formal way, as though he had never seen me before although I’d worked as his secretary for a year, and answered, ‘You’ve done everything else. I don’t see why not!’”

Blanche became the first woman admitted into the business school. Two more women from the University of Chicago were admitted after Blanche. Anna Hasler, Athleen Catterson, and Blanche graduated together in 1923, making them the first women to graduate from the Indiana University School of Commerce and Finance.

After graduation, Blanche moved to Lafayette to begin work as a teacher and married Francis Wean in 1926. In 1930, Francis passed away, widowing Blanche and leaving her to raise three daughters under the age of three at the onset of the Great Depression.

Blanche writes in her memoir about the time: “The shock of his death was almost more than I could bear. I found it hard to make decisions, except one, and that with emphasis. Friends without children asked whether I would consider giving one of my children to them.

I was indignant and answered, ‘Why? I have my education and ability to work. I can take care of my own children.’”

 Instead, Blanche went back to Bloomington after Francis passed away to substitute teach for Lulu Westenhaver. Blanche describes in her memoir that moving back to Bloomington was like a homecoming: “It was a time to renew old friendships with Herman Wells, Mr. Pritchett, Joe Batchelor, Esther Bray, and Miss Kirby.”

While teaching at IU, she was working on her master’s degree and was offered a trial position as the head of the business department at Central Normal College in Danville, Indiana. Instead of moving her family on the hope of a full-time position at the college, she woke up every Monday morning at 2:30am to drive to Danville and teach a 6:00am class.

In 1932, Blanche received an offer from Central Normal College to head the business school, serve as the dean of women, and be the student newspaper advisor—with the promise that she would finish her master’s degree. She moved her family to Danville and continued these roles for 17 years while also working as an accountant for outside businesses.

In the mean time, all three of her daughters attended Indiana University for both their undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

In 1947, Blanche left the college and started her own accounting firm out of her home, Blanche M. Wean and Associates. She ran the business on her own with a few employees until her grandson, Ted Andrews, joined the firm, renamed Wean, Andrews, & Co. in 1980.

Blanche contributed greatly to the business education of students and shattered glass ceilings for many women aspiring to careers in business. Blanche was instrumental in proving that women could succeed in the business world, even without the assistance of a husband. In an interview with The Indianapolis Star in 1987, Blanche expounds on the importance of ability beyond physical attributes:

“I judge an individual on his or her merits. It’s not a matter of color or race, of women or men. It’s a question of ‘the job has to be done and let’s do it.’ If you can do it better than the other fellow, fine.”

Sarah, Lulu, Esther, and Blanche are the representations of the building blocks that women became for each other in the early days of the business school, all in an effort to gain equal footing.

Sarah Kirby begins in a traditional role as a secretary to exclusively male deans, but is the catalyst to getting the first woman into the business school, which led to the fantastic, stereotype-breaking life of Blanche McNeely Wean.

Lulu Westenhaver helped break down barriers discouraging women to enter business by promoting and encouraging young women to be a part of professional organizations and by becoming an instructor.

Esther Bray contradicted the traditional role of a politician’s wife and accomplished substantial accolades in her own right. Sarah, Lulu, and Esther’s work and lives are exemplified in the life of Blanche McNeely Wean, who was able to completely break the mold of what it means to be a woman interested in business.

Blanche was able to not just be a teacher, but practice accounting in her own right. These four women represent the ways in which women progressed in the early days of the business school that is now the nationally acclaimed Kelley School of Business—a school that now has its first female dean—Dr. Idalene Kesner.

Works Cited

“Events of Day in Normal.” The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), October 29, 1941.

“Honored at IU.” The Indianapolis News, May 9, 1942.

“Instructor at IU for 28 years Dies.” The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), April 23, 1959.

“New Courses Announced.” The Fort Wayne Sentinel, August 16, 1920.

Bray, Esther, and Harold Lusk. Memorial Resolution on the Death of Miss Lula May Westenhaver. Bloomington, IN.

Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors (1915-1955)

Butters, Mary Ann. “Dinner to Focus Spotlight on Mrs. Bray.” The Indianapolis Star, March 2, 1972.

Chaney, Ruth. “Congressman’s wife has life of varied interests.” The Daily Journal (Franklin, IN), October 6, 1964.

Ellis, Mike. “Book to be the keeper of the fate.” The Indianapolis News, September 9, 1987.

Gibbons, Helen. Memorial Resolution: Professor Emeritus Professor Esther Debra Bray. October 2, 2000. Bloomington, IN.

Hopper, Lynn. “Awash in Fond Memories.” The Indianapolis Star, February 27, 1998.

Jensen, Jean. “She’s at Home in Business.” The Indianapolis News, December 29, 1982.

McBride, Suzanne. “An Education in Higher Learning: 21-year board member sees progress.” The Indianapolis News (Indianapolis), June 22, 1992.

Parsons, Claude. “Esther Bray is serving 16th year on Higher Education Commission.” The Indianapolis News, April 9, 1987.

Rosenberg, Beth. “Blanche Wean, 86, Still Accountable.” The Indianapolis Star, September 24, 1987.

Rosenberg, Beth. “Blanche Wean, 86, Still Accountable.” The Indianapolis Star, September 24, 1987.

Spangle, Beth. “Blanche McNeely Wean left a legacy for town and family.” The Indianapolis News, June 9, 1999.

Stewart, Lotys Benning. “They Achieve.” The Indianapolis Star, June 30, 1946.

Strother, Bill. “Esther Bray recalled as leader, teacher.” The Herald Times Online, December 23, 1999. Accessed September 12, 2017. http://ww.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/1999/12/23/news.991223_A1_JPS09096.sto.

Vol. 15, No. 5 (May, 1929), pp. 405-415

Wean, Blanche McNeely. Blanche accounts: a McNeely family story. Danville, IN: Blanche McNeely Wean, 1996.

Wetuski, Jodi. “Her Varied Life Adds Up.” The Indianapolis Star, July 17, 1996.

Wetuski, Jodi. “Her Varied Life Adds Up.” The Indianapolis Star, July 17, 1996.