By Published: July 11, 2022

CU Charm bracelet

The bracelet contains 9 charms: Runner-up 鈥淓-Days鈥 Queen, 1964;聽Colorado Engineer Editor; Tau Beta Pi Badge; Mortar board Chi Epsilon, Civil Engineering Honorary [belonged to her former husband Robert Joselyn (CivEngr鈥65; MBA鈥67; PhDBus鈥71)]; Who鈥檚 Who, Students in American Universities and Colleges; Sigma Tau, Engineering Honorary;聽Colorado Engineer, Book Review Editor; Sigma Epsilon Sigma, Physics Honorary

In the mid-1960s, charm bracelets were a woman鈥檚 fashion staple.聽

鈥淲e all had them,鈥 said astrogeophysicist Jo Ann Cram Joselyn (ApMath鈥65; MAstro鈥67; PhD鈥78), who donated her bracelet to the CU Heritage Center in 1995. 鈥淪ome people got really fancy with teddy bears and stuff like that. When you went on a trip, you鈥檇 buy a charm 鈥β memento things.鈥澛

Joselyn鈥檚 bracelet told her CU undergraduate story. She lived in the Sewall Hall women鈥檚 dorm for all four years. She has charms that signify her experience as runner-up Queen at E-Days [Engineering Days] as well as her engineering and physics honors status. Her favorite charm 鈥 a 1965 Tau Beta Pi women鈥檚 badge 鈥 granted her partial recognition in the engineering honor society. Women weren鈥檛 allowed full membership until 1969.

鈥淲hen I put that bracelet on, I would feel appreciated,鈥 she said.聽

Joselyn went on to have an extraordinary career. She became CU鈥檚 first woman to receive a PhD in astrophysics. She worked as a space scientist and space weather forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for more than three decades, and then served as the secretary general for the and the s. in 2002.聽

鈥淚鈥檝e had a fun life,鈥 she said.聽

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Photo by Mona Lambrecht聽