Stockton College to Hold Memorial For Longtime Professor

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey will hold an on-campus memorial this weekend for a long time women's studies professor who died last year.   The college will honor Dr. Nancy Ashton on Sunday, March 24 at 1 p.m. at the on-campus Alton Auditorium.   According to the college, Ashton taught Psychology and Women's Studies at Stockton from 1977 until her death on January 9, 2012. She was 62 and is survived by her daughter, Hilarie Chandra Ashton; her sister, Ann Gold; and her brother, Brad Ashton.   Ashton adopted a girl from Afghanistan, supporting her for four years, through high school. That girl is now a college student in Virginia.

While teaching women's studies at Stockton, Professor Ashton, described as a “committed feminist,” secured grants for transforming the curriculum to include gender, race, and class. 

She was active in the South Jersey chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She also served on the board of the Atlantic County Women's Center, and organized efforts in support of women's reproductive freedom.

Ashton will be remembered through musical performances and speeches that will highlight her life's milestones.

The School of General Studies, the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Psychology program and the Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies program are sponsoring the memorial, which will be followed by light refreshments.

The memorial is free and open to the public.