In this 1960s-era photo, Astronomy Professor Helen Brooks, right, and Physics and Astronomy Chair John Turin, center, meet with renowned science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, author of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” in Ritter Planetarium. During Women’s History Month, UToledo celebrates Brooks as a trailblazer.
Brooks began teaching UToledo’s only for-credit astronomy course in 1958. She and her husband, Elgin, also were instrumental in the University’s Ritter Planetarium, from inception to completion in 1967, and Brooks would serve as the planetarium’s first director.
She retired from UToledo in 1972 but remained committed to the University and its students. She and Elgin donated money for the Brook Observatory atop McMaster Hall in 1987 and to a scholarship for undergraduate students in 1999, and $1 million for an endowed professorship in 2008.
In 2003, UToledo granted Brooks an honorary doctoral degree.
