In 1958, the voluntary Coed Cadet Corps was formed at OSU, providing the framework for the nationwide incorporation of women into ROTC in 1973. (The Co-ed Cadets are shown here in 1965.)

In 1969 OSU became the first university to offer training for co-eds for the Women’s Air Force (WAF).

Orkins, 1971

In 1970 Capt. Rosetta A. Armour came to OSU, and became the first African-American WAF instructor to join a University’s staff since the 1950s. And in 1971 Susan Orkins, a senior at OSU, became the first woman in the Air Force ROTC to hold the top student position of cadet commander on any campus. At the time, OSU was one of only four schools in the country to allow women to join the ROTC.