75 years ago, Dorothy Price made HERstory
Late alum Dorothy Price at a university event during her senior year at the University at Buffalo in 1949. Photo courtesy of University Archives.
By Elizabeth Egan
Published October 17, 2024
In 1949, Dorothy Price (formerly Gracz) graduated from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences with a degree in industrial engineering, making her the first female student to graduate from the University at Buffalo with an engineering degree.
Dorothy Price's graduation photo from 1949. Photo courtesy of Jim Moynihan.
Price, who passed away in 2008, began her journey in engineering with an aircraft engineering and drafting course at Cornell University. During World War II, she was recruited to work at the Curtis-Wright Corporation as an engineer’s aid, helping engineers make corrections on blueprints for cargo and fighter planes. Price’s aptitude for the job prompted her boss to encourage her to study engineering after the war ended.
While the significance of her achievement continues to draw acclaim, Price’s son, Jim Moynihan, noted that his mother would often say, “I was the first, but there were others,” acknowledging four other female students who enrolled in SEAS during her time as an undergraduate.
According to Moynihan, Price helped start a chapter of the Society for Advancement of Management at SEAS, one of the school’s first student engineering clubs, and was elected to serve as secretary.
After graduating, she worked in industry for several years before pursuing a career as a physics teacher.
In 1999, Price returned to UB to receive the Vital Partners Award, commemorating the 50th anniversary of her graduation and recognizing her as a role model for future generations of women in engineering.
When accepting the award, she encouraged women with an interest in math and the sciences to pursue engineering, saying, “It can be preparation for unlimited opportunities in any field."