When Lelia Thompson Flagg, a 1960 graduate in civil engineering, arrived at Missouri S&T for the first time, there were no dorms for her to stay in. Instead, she stayed with a Black family south of campus while earning her degree.
Flagg was the first Black woman to graduate from Missouri S&T and was one of only 11 women during her freshman year in 1956. She excelled at math in high school and was encouraged by her teachers to study engineering.
After graduation, Flagg headed to California to work at the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering. Later, she returned to S&T and became assistant director of admissions until 1998.
Share This Story
Spark a Memory?
Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).
Jack Carney on the 2008 name change
John F. “Jack” Carney, who served as chancellor at S&T between 2005 and 2011, explains his reasons for...
The sun’s on their side
In 1999, the Missouri S&T Solar Car Team took first place in Sunrayce, now known as the American Solar Challenge….
An out-of-this-world championship
How does a team go from worst to first in a matter of just a few years? Missouri S&T’s Mars…
John and Kristie (Capps) Gibson
After a basketball game in February 1973, John Gibson and a friend went to a party at TJ Hall where…
NIH’s first woman scientist
Dr. Ida Bengtson was the first woman the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hired as a scientist in 1916. For…
Behind every weather forecast
The next time you’re watching the Weather Channel, you might want to thank S&T alumnus Harry Smith for equipping today’s…