2018-2019 WLP Annual Report

“Those are two of, I’m sure, hundreds of examples
of women who had difficulties as they earned their
doctorates,” said Applegate.
Life struggles aside, Applegate said just the act of
researching and writing a dissertation can bring
unexpected costs, from travel to materials to lab time.
“So, you know, a little extra money can always be
useful,” she said.
Over the course of her career, Applegate said she “has
had every job there is to do in a College of Education.”
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve benefitted from in so many
ways,” she said.
Applegate earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral
degrees at Ohio State University, and then was tapped
by the Ohio Department of Education to analyze every
education program in every university in the state in an
effort to “transform teacher education in the state of
Ohio.”
“I had a very specific and narrow view, and this
broadened my view, and I think helped me in so many
ways when I went into administration,” she said.
From there, Applegate went into university life,
serving as a professor at Kent State University and
dean at West Virginia University before coming to
USF as dean of the College of Education. She the
first female dean of the college and one of only eight
female College of Education deans in the country at
the time.
During her tenure as dean, Applegate oversaw the
opening of the new College of Education building
and the launch of the Master of Arts in Teaching
as well as forged new international partnerships.
After she stepped down as dean and until her
retirement in 2013, Applegate served the university
as a professor of teacher education/English education.
“After I left the dean’s office, being a former dean and
full professor was the icing on the cake,” she said,
explaining how her junior colleagues would come to
her for advice and guidance in a way they couldn’t
when she was dean.
Applegate looks forward to getting more involved in
WLP initiatives in the coming years. Thanks to her
blended gift, Applegate can see the impact her
support is making today and know her legacy will help
advance her WLP scholarship recipients well into the
future.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to actually give
that first gift and actually be there and meet these
young women. That’s going to be very satisfying,” said
Applegate.
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 8