During the turn of the 20th century, Illinois hired their first female dean to take on the responsibility of the growing female student population. Violet DeLille Jayne decided to make campus more enticing and fulfilling for female students through extracurricular activities. In addition to starting the first intermural women’s basketball team (which was created before the men’s team), Violet also helped pioneer entirely female-led editions of the student newspaper, The Illini. The legacy of her innovations is still visible on today’s campus.
Violet DeLille Jayne forever changed history at the University of Illinois through her progressive and visionary ideas ensuring the empowerment of female students.


To learn more:
Violet DeLille Jayne Archive https://go.illinois.edu/1900swomen
Daily Illini https://dailyillini.com/
University Archives https://archives.library.illinois.edu/
Illinois Women’s Basketball Team https://fightingillini.com/sports/wom...