Dr. Ruth Alexander

Class of: 2004

School: UF

Dr. Ruth Alexander graduated from Milligan College in Tennessee before teaching in the public school system for a few years and coaching and teaching at Indiana University and the University of Kentucky. After that, she moved on to the University of Maryland to work with women’s sports despite the opposition put forth by some men’s sports coaches. Dr. Alexander took her family and her career to the University of Florida where she, and eight other Florida universities’ women’s athletic directors met to develop plans as to how their universities could make their men’s and women’s athletic programs comparable. This came about as a result of issues at Brown University which resulted in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) issuing Title IX. Following the meeting of women’s athletic directors, Dr. Alexander went back to the University of Florida and helped build the foundation for what has become one of the most successful women’s collegiate athletic programs in the nation.