Wilma Crumley, Journalism Papers

Wilma Crumley began working in the advertising department of the Fremont Guide & Tribute in 1945 and earned her bachelor’s degree from Midland College in 1949. Soon after her graduation, Crumley married, and while her husband pursued further education, she worked in the advertising departments of the Lincoln Journal and Star and the Manhattan Mercury in Kansas. Crumley briefly left newspaper work to raise her two daughters, but when her husband died suddenly, she decided to return to school. She entered the University of Missouri and received both her master’s degree and later a Ph.D. degree there. In 1966 she earned her Ph.D. degree from MU. While in graduate school, Crumley began teaching, starting at MU and at Stephens College.

In 1965, Crumley began teaching advertising in the School of Journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. At UNL, she was the first woman to become a full professor in the Journalism School. Through her career there, she was chairwoman of the Advertising Department, Associate Dean of the College of Journalism and Chairwoman of the Journalism Graduate Program, which she established. She was also Secretary of the UNL Faculty Senate in 1979-1980. In 1977, Crumley attended the National Women’s Conference as an official observer. She was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, although the Nebraska delegation was anti-ERA.

Crumley retired in 1991. After retiring, she traveled to Panama, Egypt, Australia and New Zealand. She also did volunteer work and served on the Board of Trustees at Midland College in her retirement.

http://nebraskapresswomen.org/?page_id=788 https://digital.library.sc.edu/exhibits/iwy/national-interviews/wilma-crumley/ https://www.unl.edu/facultysenate/past-secretaries-unl-faculty-senate https://unlcms.unl.edu/journalism2/cojmc/alumni/jnews/archive/94_winter/emeriti.html