Jensen, Joan M.

American historian.

Joan M. Jensen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1934. Her family moved to California in 1940. After graduating from high school, Jensen entered the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where she received her Bachelor's Arts (1957), Master's of Arts (1959), and Ph. D. (1962). Immediately following her graduation from UCLA, Jensen accepted an Assistant Professor position at the United States International University in San Diego. In 1967 she was promoted to Associate Professor, which she held until leaving the university in 1971. In 1974 Jensen accepted a visiting professor position at Arizona State University in Tempe Arizona. She held this position for one year, before returning to UCLA as a visiting lecturer in 1975-1976. In 1976, Jensen accepted an Assistant Professor position at New Mexico State University, where she remained for the rest of her academic career. She is best known for contributing to the field of Women's Studies and shaping its direction. In 1978, she was awarded the rank of Associate Professor, and in 1982, full Professor, and appointed Department Head of the History Department, where she remained until 1987. Among her achievements, Jensen organized the American Farm Women In Historical Perspective Conference, which was sponsored by NMSU, and featured scholars and experts in the field of Women's Studies from all over the United States. In 1989, she became the Director for the Program of Women's Studies at New Mexico State University, a position she held until retirement. She retired from teaching in 1994, but remained active professionally and continued her education, receiving a Master's of Arts in Art from New Mexico State University (2000).

Biography

Joan Maria Jensen was born on December 9, 1934, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of an Italian immigrant father and a first-generation German American mother. She moved to California with her family in 1940 and attended Pasadena Community College and UCLA where she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in history.

Jensen taught at California Western University, later U.S. International University, in San Diego from 1962-1971. She was a visiting professor at Arizona State University at Tempe and UCLA. From 1976 until 1992, Jensen taught history at New Mexico State University where she also directed the Women's Studies program.

Jensen's research interests include the study of feminism, women's history, multiculturalism, individuals from underrepresented communities, and multiethnicity. Her essay entitled "The Gentle Tamers Revisited: New Approaches to the History of Women in the American West," published in PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW, won the Coalition for Western Women's History prize for outstanding scholarship on gender and the experiences of women in the American West.

Jensen became professor emerita from New Mexico State University in 1992.

Joan M. Jensen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1934 . Her family moved to California in 1940. After graduating from high school, Jensen entered the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where she received her Bachelor's Arts (1957), Master's of Arts (1959), and Ph.D. (1962). Immediately following her graduation from UCLA, Jensen accepted an Assistant Professor position at the United States International University in San Diego. In 1967 she was promoted to Associate Professor, which she held until leaving the university in 1971. In 1974 Jensen accepted a visiting professor position at Arizona State University in Tempe Arizona. She held this position for one year, before returning to UCLA as a visiting lecturer in 1975-1976.

n 1976, Jensen accepted an Assistant Professor position at New Mexico State University, where she remained for the rest of her academic career. She is best known for contributing to the field of Women's Studies, and shaping its direction. In 1978, she was awarded the rank of Associate Professor, and in 1982, full Professor, and appointed Department Head of the History Department, where she remained until 1987. Among her achievements, Jensen organized the American Farm Women In Historical Perspective Conference, which was sponsored by NMSU, and featured scholars and experts in the field of Women's Studies from all over the United States. In 1989, she became the Director for the Program of Women's Studies at New Mexico State University, a position she held until retirement. She retired from teaching in 1994, but remained active professionally and continued her education, receiving a Master's of Arts in Art from New Mexico State University (2000).