Victoria Murden McClure (born March 6, 1963
) is an athlete, adventurer, chaplain, lawyer, and university administrator who was the first woman and the first American to row solo across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
, which she did in 1999. She was also the first woman and first American to ski to the geographic
South Pole and the first woman to climb the
Lewis Nunatak in the Antarctic. She is the president of
Spalding University
Spalding University is a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
History
Spalding University traces its origins to Nazareth Academy, one of the oldest educational institut ...
, a private
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
university in
Louisville, Kentucky.
[Spalding University President Search](_blank)
/ref> She also served as the Chair of the Board
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
of the National Outdoor Leadership School
NOLS is a non-profit outdoor education school based in the United States dedicated to teaching environmental ethics, technical outdoor skills, wilderness medicine, risk management and judgment, and leadership on extended wilderness expeditions an ...
(NOLS), an outdoor education school headquartered in Lander, Wyoming
Lander is a city in Wyoming, United States, and the county seat of Fremont County. It is in central Wyoming, along the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River, just south of the Wind River Indian Reservation. It is a tourism center with several n ...
, that emphasizes environmental ethics and wilderness excursions.
Early life and education
McClure was born in Brooksville, Florida
Brooksville is a city in western Florida and the county seat of Hernando County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,719, up from 7,264 at the 2000 census. Brooksville is home to historic buildings and residenc ...
and as a child moved to Connecticut and then to Pennsylvania. At the age of fifteen, she moved in with her grandmother in Louisville, Kentucky, to attend the Louisville Collegiate School from which she graduated in 1981. She went on to Smith College, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1985. She followed that with a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
in 1989, a J.D. from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1995, and a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Spalding University
Spalding University is a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
History
Spalding University traces its origins to Nazareth Academy, one of the oldest educational institut ...
.
Solo row across the Atlantic
Thirty-six years old at the time, she rowed for eighty-one days, traveling , starting from the Canary Islands and finishing at Guadeloupe on December 3, 1999. Her boat, ''Pearl'', was twenty-three feet long, four feet high, and six feet wide and weighed about 1800 pounds. It was her second trip across the ocean, her first one cut short due to the hurricane season in 1998.
She wrote a memoir about her experiences, ''A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean'', published by HarperCollins in 2009.
She is also noted for her 700-mile ski across the South Pole (the first woman to ski to the South Pole), and she was the first woman to climb the Lewis Nunatak in the Antarctic.
Career
McClure has also worked as a chaplain at Boston City Hospital
The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in Boston, Massachusetts, was a public hospital, located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and . ...
, the executive director of a shelter for homeless women, and a public policy analyst for the Mayor of Louisville, and she worked for the boxer and humanitarian Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
. On June 1, 2010, she became the president of Spalding University
Spalding University is a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
History
Spalding University traces its origins to Nazareth Academy, one of the oldest educational institut ...
, which is located in Louisville. She is the Chair of the Board of the National Outdoor Leadership School
NOLS is a non-profit outdoor education school based in the United States dedicated to teaching environmental ethics, technical outdoor skills, wilderness medicine, risk management and judgment, and leadership on extended wilderness expeditions an ...
.
Honors and awards
* 1988 – First woman and first American to reach the summit of the Lewis Nunatak in the Antarctic
* 1989 – First woman and first American to ski to the geographic South Pole
* 1989 – Named a Hopkin's Scholar at Harvard University
* 1999 – First woman and first American to row across the Atlantic
* 1999 – Received Kentucky Derby Festival
The Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky, during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby. The festival, Kentucky's largest single annual event, first ran from 1935 to ...
's Silver Horse Shoe Award for courage, determination, and community service
* 2000 – Received special Victor Award, given annually by the National Academy of Sports Editors
The National Academy of Sports Editors is an industry association of professionals associated with the sports news business. Its membership is a cross-section of American sports editors, writers, and broadcasters.
The academy bestows the Victor ...
to outstanding athletes
* 2000 – Received the Peter Bird Trophy for Tenacity and Perseverance from the Ocean Rowing Society International
Ocean Rowing Society International (ORSI) (prior to 2006 known as ORS), is the governing body for international ocean rowing and official adjudicator of ocean rowing records for Guinness World Records. ORSI was founded in 1983 in California by ocea ...
* 2000 – HonoredIn what way? by European Academy of Sport
References
Resources
*
*
*
*
*
External links
A Pearl in the Storm Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murden, Tori
Living people
1963 births
American female rowers
Women academic administrators
Louisville Collegiate School alumni
Spalding University alumni
Smith College alumni
Harvard Divinity School alumni
University of Louisville alumni
People from Brooksville, Florida
People from Louisville, Kentucky
Place of birth missing (living people)
American explorers
Female polar explorers
American academic administrators
South Pole
21st-century American women