Eastern Michigan Athletics
Details Announced for Lucy Parker Celebration of Life
5/15/2019 10:00:00 AM | General
Parker served the EMU athletic department from 1976-91
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- A Celebration of Life to commemorate the life and contributions of Eastern Michigan University E-Club Hall of Famer Lucy Parker. The event will take place Saturday, June 15, from 2-4 p.m. in the banquet hall of Eagle Crest Golf Club (1275 South Huron Street in Ypsilanti). If you plan to attend, please RSVP by Friday, June 7 to cwasik1@outlook.com or 239.948.1238.
A pioneer and visionary figure in the world of women's athletics at Eastern Michigan University, Parker was responsible for increasing scholarships for women, moving women's coaching positions from part-time to full-time, and helping add intercollegiate sports offerings.
Parker passed away Sept. 1, 2018, at the age of 82.
A native of Smithville, Tenn., Parker graduated from Detroit Eastern High School in 1954, where she excelled in tennis and basketball. She went on to earn her bachelor's degree in physical education from EMU in 1958 and her master's degree from EMU in 1964 and then did post-graduate work at The Ohio State University.
After teaching and coaching on the high school level and at Henry Ford Community College and the University of Michigan, she took the job as EMU's women's tennis coach at a time when women's athletics had recently been moved from the physical education department to the athletic department. Parker was then hired by EMU's acting athletic director Ron Oestrike as the assistant director of athletics, working in that position for a year. In 1976 she officially became the associate athletic director for women's athletics until 1991 when she retired.
Throughout her career, Parker was actively involved in promoting women in athletics through such programs as the Women's Recreation Association and the State of Michigan Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (SMAIAW). Through hard work and the passage of Title IX, the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) became a reality. The AIAW functioned in the equivalent role for college women's programs before eventually merging with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Her guidance and dedication was also instrumental in the success of EMU's Women's Athletic Endowment Fund, which was later renamed the Lucy Parker Women's Athletic Endowment Fund.
Parker always worked hard to promote women's athletics and was politically active and a passionate advocate for the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
She was interred in DeKalb County Memorial Gardens in her hometown of Smithville, Tenn.
A pioneer and visionary figure in the world of women's athletics at Eastern Michigan University, Parker was responsible for increasing scholarships for women, moving women's coaching positions from part-time to full-time, and helping add intercollegiate sports offerings.
Parker passed away Sept. 1, 2018, at the age of 82.
A native of Smithville, Tenn., Parker graduated from Detroit Eastern High School in 1954, where she excelled in tennis and basketball. She went on to earn her bachelor's degree in physical education from EMU in 1958 and her master's degree from EMU in 1964 and then did post-graduate work at The Ohio State University.
After teaching and coaching on the high school level and at Henry Ford Community College and the University of Michigan, she took the job as EMU's women's tennis coach at a time when women's athletics had recently been moved from the physical education department to the athletic department. Parker was then hired by EMU's acting athletic director Ron Oestrike as the assistant director of athletics, working in that position for a year. In 1976 she officially became the associate athletic director for women's athletics until 1991 when she retired.
Throughout her career, Parker was actively involved in promoting women in athletics through such programs as the Women's Recreation Association and the State of Michigan Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (SMAIAW). Through hard work and the passage of Title IX, the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) became a reality. The AIAW functioned in the equivalent role for college women's programs before eventually merging with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Her guidance and dedication was also instrumental in the success of EMU's Women's Athletic Endowment Fund, which was later renamed the Lucy Parker Women's Athletic Endowment Fund.
Parker always worked hard to promote women's athletics and was politically active and a passionate advocate for the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
She was interred in DeKalb County Memorial Gardens in her hometown of Smithville, Tenn.
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