Sally Ride died a week ago, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was amazing not only for being the first American woman in space, but for her career after her retirement from NASA. She (among many other achievements) founded Sally Ride Science, an organization dedicated to motivating both girls and boys to pursue their interests in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Since Apollo 10, NASA has used music to awaken astronauts on space missions. On her fifth morning in space, Dr. Ride — a Stanford alumna — was awoken by the “Stanford Hymn” (among other songs). But on her second morning in space Dr. Ride and the rest of the crew were awoken by an a cappella rendering of “Tuftonia’s Day” by our own Beelzebubs. Why? Because on Dr. Ride’s first flight, shuttle mission STS-7 from June 18-24, 1983, she was joined by pilot Rick Hauck, A62.

Dr. Hauck, an NROTC student, more recently served on the Board of Trustees from 1988 to 2002, and received an honorary Doctorate of Public Service. In 1985, Tufts awarded the Presidential Medal to Dr. Hauck, who presented then-president Dr. Jean Mayer with a patch and flag which had traversed the world in the space shuttle Challenger. That patch and flag — along with a photograph of the entire crew, including Dr. Ride — are pictured here.

We mourn Dr. Ride and honor her life and achievements.

In 1942, Tufts was one of eight universities granted a Naval ROTC unit, which allowed students to complete their college studies and receive military training prior to being commissioned in the navy. The Tufts Digital Library has numerous images of the NROTC from the NROTC/V-12 collection of memorabilia. DCA also has a collection of artifacts from the Tufts War Museum, which includes items such as medallions, coins, and shrapnel taken from soldiers’ bodies! Other collections relevant to the history of veterans include the School for War Veterans records, World War II posters and publications, the Melville Munro collection’s series on Tufts and the War and the War Years at Tufts, and the Atomic Veterans collection, which recognizes members of the United States Armed Forces and citizens who were exposed to ionizing radiation from atomic and nuclear weapons testing.

Tomorrow, Tufts honors veterans and those currently serving in the armed forces in ceremonies on Memorial Steps and in Ballou Hall.