Susan Kaplowitz chose an interesting topic for her doctoral thesis: “Guidelines for Establishing Equitable Interscholastic Athletic Programs for Boys and Girls in Public High Schools.” That’s not surprising. Susan was well aware that women were discriminated against as athletes.  

            We met Susan in my last blog post. The Bronx native was athletic from an early age, but girls had no organized sports in the 1950s and ‘60s. She couldn’t play for a school until she went to Hunter College, where she majored in physical education. She went on get a masters at Kean University and a doctorate at New York University. Her doctoral studies in physical education coincided with the passage of Title IX.

            After writing her dissertation, Susan had a great idea. Why not show it to area athletic directors, so they can assess whether their sports programs were fair to girls? She shared her findings with thirteen public high schools, hoping they would use them to see if their programs complied with Title IX guidelines, and to move them toward compliance if they weren’t.

            And then crickets.

            Eventually, one of the thirteen athletic directors said he would use her guidelines to audit his sports program. “The other twelve said that their programs were fine as they were,” she said.*

Strikeout after strikeout

            Susan went on to marry and have children and continued with her love of sports as a player, coach and referee. She played on adult softball and volleyball teams. She refereed softball and basketball. She even coached college basketball for Stern College, the women’s college of Yeshiva University.

            In 1979, Rutgers University was looking for an assistant basketball coach, and she applied.

            “Despite my qualifications and my experience, I didn’t get the job, and I always wondered why,” she said.** She suspected her gender factored into the decision.

            The years went by, but even post-Title IX, society’s view of women didn’t change overnight. In 1984, when Susan’s son was six, she wanted to coach his t-ball team. She walked into the coaches’ meeting, and a man approached her.

            “’Miss, this meeting is for coaches,’” he said, stopping her.

            “I responded, ‘I am a coach and wish to coach a team,’” she said. “After all these years, I still remember his look. When I asked for an assistant coach, not one man volunteered to help me. So, I coached the team myself.”

            In 1988, she applied for a position as the sports and recreation director at a local Y. Again, her gender was a barrier.

            “One of the interviewers said, ‘This job involves coaching and night and weekend games. You have two children. How would you be able to do this?’” she recalls. Three men and Susan were up for the job, and she didn’t get it. She suspects the men weren’t asked about their childcare arrangements.

A flourishing career

            But Susan wasn’t deterred by any of this. She went on to teach at Rutgers University as a professor of exercise science until her retirement last year. At Rutgers, she started the Center for Exercise and Aging and taught students to be physical education teachers, physical therapists and recreation specialists, among many other careers. She’s worked with children of all ages, she’s a personal trainer and has been a consultant for gyms and Ys. She’s even coached her grandson’s teams with no opposition from anyone!

            In an interesting twist, Susan’s son Andrew married Lisa Stern Kaplowitz, a student athlete at Brown University in the 1990s. Lisa was on the women’s gymnastics team that brought a Title IX lawsuit against the university in 1991 for cutting the team. I’ll be talking to Lisa soon!

Pride as a pioneer

            Susan’s lived during a time of tremendous upheaval in society’s view of women and  gender equality. Sometimes, she says she regrets being born too soon to benefit from Title IX. But she also understands the unique privilege she’s had of being part of the generation that changed everything.

            “I am filled with pride and happiness to see the progress that girls and women in sports have made,” she said. “I know there are miles to go, and examples of inequality still exist, but mothers and fathers are teaching and playing sports with their daughters as well as their sons, just as my dad did with me. Through their parents’ strong influence, children will learn how beneficial athletic participation can be — for boys and girls.”

                                                ___________________

*  From my interview with Susan on November 21, 2022.

** Susan Kaplowitz, “My Title IX Story: The Personal Perspective of a Female Athlete and Coach,” Shape America (May 24, 2022). All remaining quotes are from this article.