Stratton, Dorothy C. (Dorothy Constance), 1899-2006

Dorothy Constance Stratton (March 24, 1899 – September 17, 2006) is best known as the first director of the SPARS, the U.S. Coast Guard Women's Reserve. In 1942, she became the first woman to be commissioned an officer in U.S. Coast Guard and is credited with giving its Women's Reserve program the name of SPARS, an acronym created from the Coast Guard motto, Semper Paratus, and its English translation, Always Ready. Lieutenant Commander Stratton attained the rank of captain in February 1944 and served as director of the SPARS from 1942 until January 1946. She was also a trailblazer for women in other areas. She became Purdue University's first full-time Dean of Women (1933–1942) and the first director of personnel at the International Monetary Fund (1947–1950). Stratton also served as the national executive director of the Girl Scouts of the USA (1950–1960).

Stratton was the recipient of awards for her public service and leadership that included a Legion of Merit for her contributions to women in the military, the Ottawa University Alumni Association's Outstanding Achievement Award, and the University of Chicago's Alumni Association's Public Service Award. She was awarded honorary degrees from several American colleges and universities, such as Ottawa University, Smith College, and Purdue University, among others. Stratton is the namesake of the Coast Guard's third National Security Cutter, the USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752), the first National Security Cutter to be named after a woman. born on March 24, 1899, in Brookfield, Missouri. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ottawa University in 1920, a Master of Arts in psychology from the University of Chicago, and a doctorate (Ph.D.) in student personnel administration from Columbia University.[2] She also studied at Northwestern University; the University of Washington; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); and University of California, Berkeley (UC-Berkeley).[3] While pursuing her advanced degrees, Stratton taught at school in Brookfield, Missouri; Renton, Washington; and San Bernardino, California.[4] In 1933, after receiving her Ph.D. from Columbia, Stratton joined the staff at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and became as its first full-time Dean of Women.[4][5] She was also an assistant professor of psychology at Purdue and became a full professor in 1940 In 1942 Stratton took a leave of absence from Purdue University and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Women's Reserve of the U.S. Naval Reserve, which was also known as the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service). In November 1942, after Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an amendment to Public Law 773 to create a women's reserve for the U.S. Coast Guard, Stratton became the first woman to be accepted into the new program.[2] She was immediately transferred from the U.S. Navy to the U.S. Coast Guard and was sent to the office of the Commandant of the Coast Guard in Washington, D.C. to organize the Coast Guard Women's Reserve. Stratton was appointed the first director of the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander, and became the first woman commissioned an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.[1][5] She rose through the ranks and in February 1944 was promoted to the rank of captain.[8] From 1947 to 1950, she worked for the International Monetary Fund as its first director of personnel. In 1950 she became national executive director of the Girl Scouts of the USA, a post she held until her retirement in 1960.[5] She served as a United Nations representative of the International Federation of University Women and chaired the women's committee of the President's Commission on Employment of the Handicapped.[3] Stratton died on September 17, 2006, in West Lafayette, Indiana, at the age of 107

Dorothy Constance Stratton served as Dean of Women at Purdue from 1933 until 1946, at a time in which the enrollment of women students jumped from less than 500 to more than 1,400. During her tenure at Purdue, she oversaw the creation of a liberal science program for women in the School of Science as well as an employment placement center. She helped established the Housemother Training School that gave intensive training to fraternity and sorority housemothers from across the United States.

In 1942, during the Second World War, Stratton took a military leave of absence from Purdue and was commissioned to create and direct the Women’s Reserve of the Coast Guard, also known as SPARS (an acronym she coined based on the phrase "Semper Paratus, Always Ready"). Upon her retirement from the military in 1946, she was awarded a Legion of Merit Medal for her contributions to women in the armed forces. Stratton went on to serve as the first director of personnel at the International Monetary Fund and then later as an executive director of the Girl Scouts of the America until her retirement in 1960. Stratton passed away on September 17, 2006.