This profile is from the Ames History Museum‘s exhibit People of Ames, which profiles an assortment of notable residents throughout the city’s history. To learn more, visit the Ames History Museum, 416 Douglas Ave., or AmesHistory.org.

Margaret Sloss (1901–1979), Iowa State’s first female graduate of veterinary medicine

In 1910, Margaret Sloss and her family moved to Ames when her father, Thomas Sloss, was hired as the superintendent of buildings, grounds and construction at Iowa State University. They were provided a house on campus where the family lived for 11 years. Margaret’s experience of growing up on campus contributed to her interest in science and especially veterinary medicine.

Sloss received her bachelor of science in 1923 and her master of science in 1932 from Iowa State. When Sloss applied to the College of Veterinary Medicine, she was immediately denied admission to the male-only department. Sloss researched her rights and discovered that because Iowa State was a federal land-grant institution they could not refuse admission on the basis of sex. She was then accepted and in 1938 became the first woman to graduate from the college with a degree in Veterinary Medicine.

After graduation, Sloss stayed on at the veterinary college and several positions, including technician in veterinary pathology, assistant/instructor in veterinary pathology and professor. Sloss was not made full professor until 27 years into her career. Dr. Sloss won numerous awards including designation in 1940 as one of 100 Women in Careers Formerly Closed to Them from Women’s Centennial Congress; Outstanding Woman Veterinarian (1953); ISU’s Faculty Citation (1959), and the Stange Award for Meritorious Service (1974). Sloss was inducted in the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 2006. The former family residence on campus is still called Sloss House and houses the women’s center.