Meredith College Celebrates 2025 Woman of Achievement Betty Webb

Professor Emerita Betty Webb, ’67, received the Meredith College 2025 Woman of Achievement Award during a special event on April 28, 2025. She was interviewed during the event by Vice President for College Programs and Professor of English Jean Jackson, ’75.

Watch the full event

Webb was a longtime faculty member in Meredith’s English department and director of international programs. Among her achievements in international education was establishing Meredith’s study abroad site in Sansepolcro, Italy. Having retired in 2013, she returned in 2023 to serve as interim director of the WINGS program.

“Here at Meredith College, achievement is about more than personal success. Achievement is about lifting others up as you rise,” said President Aimee Sapp, who presented Webb with the Woman of Achievement award. “Dr. Betty Webb represents the very essence of what makes Meredith College special … she has constantly chosen paths that have required courage and commitment. Her greatest achievement is the countless lives she’s touched and the doors she has opened for students.”

As a Meredith student, Webb majored in English and history. Her first job after graduating in 1967 was teaching at Apex High School when the previously segregated school was in the process of consolidating. Webb said she learned so much from the students she taught during her year and a half there. 

The audience for the Woman of Achievement event represented the many lives touched by Webb’s work. Some of her former students from Meredith and Apex High School attended, along with friends and current and former colleagues. 

Jackson asked Webb about her career, inspirations, and interests. The wide-ranging conversation also focused on Webb’s work in international education, from setting up the College’s study abroad site in Sansepolcro, Italy, to inspiring Meredith’s “Tide of Hope” long-term relief effort for Sri Lanka after the December 2004 tsunami. 

When asked why international education became the focus of her career, Webb joked that “traveling with students is a lot more fun than grading their papers,” before sharing examples of the many connections she has made around the world. These relationships have enhanced Meredith programs while building long-term connections and friendships.

“I like the world much better the smaller it gets,” Webb said. “I was just hugely privileged in that work.”

At the closing of the event, Webb said her greatest achievement was “being smart enough to stay around all these smart young people [at Meredith] … having the good sense to stay with good people.”

The event was followed by an English tea-themed reception in Belk Dining Hall.

The Meredith College Woman of Achievement Award
Established in 2007, the Meredith College Woman of Achievement Award recognizes women who are inspirational role models. The award celebrates professional and personal accomplishments, visionary thinking, entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, community service, and philanthropy that have significantly enhanced the intellectual climate and the quality of life on a national or international scope.