CEW is sad to share the news that Irma Wyman, (BSEM ENG ’49), computer-industry pioneer, champion of women in STEM fields, and great friend of CEW and U-M, died this week in her home city of St. Paul at the age of 87. Irma participated in the early development of the “programmable computer,” and went on to become the first female vice president of Honeywell, Inc. a Fortune 100 Company. She also served for 10 years as the Archdeacon of the Diocese of Minnesota before she fully retired. Read more about Irma’s career here.

Irma’s inspiration for becoming a CEW donor had a lot to do with her understanding of struggle and the importance of being given a chance at success: She said this in an interview with CEW in 2011:

“Since my life had been transformed by a scholarship, I knew exactly what the impact of that was on a person. And being female, I wanted to assist other women who were perhaps getting into the same kinds of challenges that I was.”

She was a fierce and outspoken supporter of women in the STEM fields. Her legacy will continue with the work of 28 amazing women scholars that have received the Irma M. Wyman Scholarship, beginning in 1996, and have gone on to study and work in all aspects of engineering and computer science. We are so happy that Irma was able to attend the 2015 Scholarship Ceremony this past October and meet with many of her former scholars who traveled to see and visit with her. We are deeply saddened by her passing.

If you would like to make a memorial gift by credit card to the Irma M. Wyman Endowed Scholarship Fund, you can do so here.