Mary Kenneth Keller: A trailblazer for women in tech and education

Breaking barriers in STEM

Born Evelyn Marie Keller on 17 December 1913, she spent most of her childhood in Chicago. At 18 years old, she joined a religious order called the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) and took her vows in 1940. 

Keller’s early career was rooted in education. She began as an elementary and high school teacher, which turned into nearly three decades as an educator. However, her love for learning went beyond her role as a Teacher. While teaching, she pursued higher education, completing both a B.A. in mathematical sciences in 1943 and a M.S. in mathematics and physics in 1953.

At a time where women were largely excluded from STEM education, Keller helped carve out a space for women in tech. In fact, her pursuit of knowledge led her to Dartmouth, a male-only institution at the time which made an exception to allow her to work in the computer labs there. In 1965, she made history as one of the first people, and likely the first woman, in the US to earn a PhD in Computer Science.

Her contributions to tech and education

After earning her Ph.D. in 1965, Keller founded one of the first computer science departments in the US at Clarke College, a women’s institution in Iowa. She led this department for 20 years and in this time empowered countless women to pursue careers in technology. 

During her time in leadership, she advocated for inclusive education policies that supported women in balancing work, family, and education. She recognised the challenges faced by working mothers and allowed them to bring their babies to class. This policy gave more women the opportunity to continue their education, who otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity, and furthered Keller’s commitment to making education more inclusive. 

A strong advocate for accessible education, she co-founded the Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) in 1967, an organisation dedicated to promoting the use of computer technology in higher education. 

She also championed the BASIC programming language, which was designed for students and beginners to simplify programming and make it more accessible to a wider audience. Although there is a rumour that suggests Keller worked directly with John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz to develop BASIC, this isn’t true. Instead, she became a dedicated teacher of the language and later co-authored a textbook on the subject in 1973, helping to further its reach in education.

Her vision for the future of tech

Education was a driving force for Keller’s involvement in technology. She believed that computers had the potential to revolutionise education and could be used as tools to improve people’s lives. Today, computers are ubiquitous in educational institutions, offering the flexibility to study online and access learning resources anytime, anywhere.

Keller was also ahead of her time in predicting the rise of artificial intelligence. She recognised that computers could mimic human cognitive processes and believed it would play a key role in education and problem-solving.

Legacy and impact

After her passing in 1985, Clarke College, now Clarke University, honored her by renaming its computer center the Keller Computer Center and Information Services, which continues to provide computing support to students and staff. They also established the Mary Kenneth Keller Computer Science Scholarship, to ensure that her legacy lives on.

Mary Kenneth Keller’s contributions to computer science and education helped pave the way for women in STEM and continues to inspire countless women to follow in her footsteps. 

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