Wick, Emily L.

Emily Lippincott Wick (December 9, 1921 – March 21, 2013) was the first woman to reach the rank of tenured faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She taught in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science. Wick received her Ph.D. in chemistry from MIT in 1951 and became a tenured professor in 1963. She advocated on behalf of female students at MIT and was influential in getting coeducational residencies, so that with more living options more female applicants could be accepted. Wick was also an avid sailor. She was the first woman commodore of the Sandy Bay Yacht Club in Rockport, Massachusetts, and the club's Race Committee boat was renamed the Emily Wick in 2012. At MIT she helped create the women's varsity sailing team, which was the first in the county to fund a coaching position dedicated to women sailors. In her honor, MIT alumnae organized the annual Emily Wick Regatta and the Emily L. Wick trophy which eventually became the Intercollegiate Women's Sailing Championship trophy.