Known by many as Doc Losh, Hazel Losh was an unlikely University of Michigan sweetheart. A stout woman who sported long skirts and messy, gray hair, Losh was one of the University’s most beloved professors--being named “Michigan’s only Homecoming Queen for Life” (1). However, these accomplishments do not equate to her success within the field of astronomy. Losh became the first female astronomy professor at the University of Michigan in 1938, earning tenured-track status due to her work in the field (2).

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        Losh had grown up loving to look up at the stars, so upon entering the University of Michigan she had plans to receive a master's degree in astronomy. However, Professor William J. Hussey noticed her success within the field and created a program that would allow her to receive not just a masters, but also a Ph.D. in astronomy in 1924 (yay for systemic empowerment!) (1). From there she received a faculty position at the University and began to establish her esteemed position shaping the campus culture and climate.

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        As a lecturer Doc was eloquently simple--her students adored her ability to take difficult astronomy lessons and make them easy to understand. Her intro to astronomy course became widely popular on campus because of the impact she was able to make inside and outside of the classroom. As former students began to enlist in the military during WWII, Losh would receive dozens of letters from her past students discussing the ways her class helped them while deployed overseas--stars are indeed universal. And on campus, Losh became a hit with student athletes, specifically within the football program. Eventually, she was the designated coin-toss before every home game and seen as both a “superfan and supermascot.” Losh was a symbol of what it meant to be a true Michigan woman at the time: both spirit and brains (1).