The Anna Hiss Gymnasium sits in the center-north part of campus in the historic Women’s campus, now known as the Honors Quad.
Dr. Anna Hiss (b. 1893) is the namesake for the Anna Hiss Gymnasium, which sits next to the honors quad of student dormitories [would be a good idea to include a map picture of where the building is]. Originally from Baltimore, Hiss arrived at UT in 1918 at the age of 25, and was appointed as the women’s physical training instructor, a position that had just been created to help female students integrate into campus life. While women had been allowed to attend UT and graduate among their male counterparts since the institution’s opening in 1883, there was an obvious separation between the male and female populations at UT as many extracurricular activities were offered for male students only. Throughout her 36 years at UT, Hiss’ work helped to create an integrated and healthy environment for female students at UT, and the scope of her work continues to impact UT students of all genders.
Much of Hiss’ work centered around the integration of female students into intramural sports and sports clubs, which had previously been solely for male student use. Hiss used her position to become a role model for female students, advocating for female sports participation, official female sports teams, and female fitness. She also taught her female students that they were more than a pretty face, and believed that women deserved to be empowered and powerful. Hiss also advocated for the creation of a women’s gym space on UT’s campus where female students could go to stay fit, which led to the creation of the Women’s Gymnasium, which opened in 1931 and was later named after Hiss herself.
Despite Hiss retiring in 1957, having spent her entire career at UT, many of her lessons and directions are still valued at UT today. Female students not only have official and nationally competing sports teams, but students of all sexual orientations are able to participate in sports together and use the same gyms. As well, Hiss’ work led to the creation of the physical education major in the school of education and the creation of many beloved women’s organizations at UT such as the Orange Jackets and Delta Kappa Gamma. Hiss was a pioneer for women’s rights and empowerment at UT, and was named professor emeritus in 1969.