Denison University

Natalie Shepard succeeded Helen Barr at Denison in 1949 and would remain at the college until 1973.  A faculty member in the department of Physical Education, Shepard continued the expansion laid by her predecessor.  She would go on to become one of the most respected members of the Denison faculty, and an archetype for all future female athletic administrators functioning within a liberal arts setting.

Shepard served three terms on the President’s Advisory Council and became the first female to be elected chair of the faculty.   A forerunner within the realm of physical education, Shepard was among the first to nationally propose realignment of the administration and the teaching of physical education.  Shepard initiated a plan to consolidate men’s and women’s physical education into a single entity and was the first chair of the joint men’s and women’s department of P.E. at Denison.  In 1960 she authored the book, “Foundations and Principles of Physical Education.”