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Susan High at the pilot's controls with a co-pilot

UD History: The First Woman Flyer to Fly

By Ava Merriman ’25

In March 1940, University of Dayton mechanical engineering major Susan Martin High ’42 became a literal flyer with her first solo flight in the Civil Aeronautics Authority civilian pilot training program.

High, UD’s first woman engineering graduate, grew up in Dayton, where she discovered a love for airplanes, the invention of which occurred in 1903, less than 17 years before her birth. With her fascination with airplanes, the newly coeducational University of Dayton, about a half-mile from her house, was a perfect match for High’s academic interests. After she graduated from Stivers High School in 1938, UD awarded her a scholarship and accepted her as one of its  first women students. 

During her sophomore year, High joined the Civil Aeronautics Authority’s new civilian pilots training program, in which she learned to fly Taylorcraft airplanes at the new Dayton Municipal Airport, now known as the James M. Cox Dayton International Airport. She was the only woman student in Ohio to complete the course in its first year of existence.

Becoming a pilot wasn’t the only way High distinguished herself at UD. By her junior year, she was treasurer-secretary of the University’s Mechanical Engineering Society. The 1942 yearbook states that she was “among the most popular members of the [1942] class.” Senior year brought more accolades and memberships in student clubs and organizations. The yearbook notes that High was a member of the Alpha Sigma Tau Honor Society, one of 13 seniors to receive its golden key award. She was one of eight seniors included in Who’s Who: The Official Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

Graduating less than six months after the United States had entered World War II, High decided to help the war effort by working in the General Motors Aeroproducts Division, drafting aircraft machinery. She married Donald High ’42, a chemical engineering graduate, and in 1950, she earned her Professional Engineer license for the state of Ohio. Eleven years later, the family moved to St. Louis. She died on Dec. 19, 2009, at the age of 89.

Given all that High accomplished, she reflected well on the theme of the successful fundraising campaign that wrapped up in May: She didn’t just fly—she soared. As students contemplate their future after college, they can use a pearl of wisdom High shared in a 2008 interview for the Dayton Engineer: “Be the best you can at whatever it is.”

More milestones and memories

The University of Dayton is celebrating its 175th anniversary with an exhibit in Roesch Library. Plan your visit to Honoring Our History: UD at 175.


— Ava Merriman is a senior English major and student employee in the University Archives.

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