Mary Sieminski '61

Distinguished Alumni Service Award | 2023

Mary Sieminski earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature at Bucknell University. In addition, she earned two Master’s degrees, one in American Literature from Boston University and another in Library and Information Science from Simmons University.

Her commitment to championing women’s rights has defined her life, which is prominently showcased in her role as the project manager for the Lycoming County Women’s History Project. Recognizing the historical oversight of local women’s stories, she collaborated with the Lycoming College Snowden Library, the James V. Brown Library and the Lycoming County Historical Society in 2006 to create an online archive celebrating these often overlooked figures.

Her dedication birthed the monthly newspaper column “Williamsport Women,” now “Lycoming County Women,” which chronicles the impactful lives of individual women and women’s groups that have shaped the Williamsport community.

For many years she also served as the associate director of the Goddard Library at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., before returning to Williamsport in 1997, when she assumed the position of director at the Madigan Library at Pennsylvania College of Technology. Even in retirement, her passion remained alive as she embarked on a “temporary” role back at the Snowden Library, one that evolved into a decade-long endeavor, culminating in the inception of the Women’s History Project.