Katharine (Kay) Fowler-Billings (1902–December 17, 1997) was an American naturalist and geologist, born and raised in Boston. She completed her bachelor of arts degree at Bryn Mawr College (1925) and then became a GeoBadger, completing her master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin in1926. She earned her doctorate at Columbia University in1930.
When Fowler-Billings began her career, the field of geology predominantly consisted of men, and the sexism she faced often prevented her from conducting research. Because of this, she would occasionally disguise herself as a man to access geological sites and continue her research. (Fowler-Billings, Katharine, 1902–. Katharine Fowler-Billings lantern slide collection, 1937: an inventory. oasis.lib.harvard.edu.)
The UW’s Department of Geoscience established the Kay Fowler-Billings Exercise in 2020 to provide an opportunity for any member of the department to propose an activity, an event, or a purchase that breaks down barriers and improves department climate, diversity, and inclusiveness.
How Your Gifts Make an Impact
So far, the Kay Fowler-Billings Exercise has created community spaces for collaboration and camaraderie, eliminated barriers to conducting field work and becoming comfortable camping and being outdoors, shown students how to make their research relevant to society, and determined scientific names for two new Late Triassic genera in the Shoshone language (the new dinosaur!). This list is not exhaustive.
Why We Need Your Support
Thanks to all of you, we have succeeded in endowing the Geoscience Special Projects Fund in Kay Fowler-Billings’s honor. Our goal for 2025 is to reach $100,000 to enable us to sustain funding these community-based, grass-roots activities that will promote well-being and equity in the department for years to come.