Betty Luther-Hillman

Whether she is leading a Harkness discussion on the LGBTQ+ scene of New York City, coaching and challenging members of the Academy’s Daniel Webster Debate Society or catching up with residents of Amen Hall, history instructor Betty Luther-Hillman, known to students as “Ms. Lu-Hill,” brings her wit and curiosity to every aspect of her campus life.

“She has an incredible grasp of what works in debate and what doesn’t, and she uses that to offer us feedback on techniques and to chat about current events.”

Luther-Hillman began her teaching career long before joining the Exeter faculty in 2011. During her undergraduate years at Harvard University, she taught at a summer camp for high school debaters. She also taught high school students at Center for Talented Youth, a summer program operated by Johns Hopkins University, and tutored at public schools in Chicago, Illinois, New Haven, Connecticut and Berkeley, California.At Exeter, Luther-Hillman teaches the U.S. History sequence, along with courses in 20th century world history, pre-colonial Africa, ancient Greek and Roman history, global topics in women and gender and LGBTQ+ history. Her interest in women, gender and sexuality topics arose from her interdisciplinary undergraduate major in history and science, for which she composed a senior thesis paper on the history of sex change surgery for trans people.One thing students may not know about Luther-Hillman is that she is an acclaimed author. Her article “‘The Most Profoundly Revolutionary Act a Homosexual Can Engage In’: Drag and the Politics of Gender Presentation in the San Francisco Gay Liberation Movement, 1964-1972” was published in the Journal of the History of Sexuality in 2011 and won the Best Article Prize from the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians. She also revised her dissertation into a book titled “Dressing for the Culture Wars: Style and the Politics of Self-Presentation in the 1960s and 1970s,” which was published in 2015 by the University of Nebraska Press.Luther-Hillman’s passion for history is evident in her instruction. Upper Emma Paltrow, who recently took Luther-Hillman’s U.S. History course, appreciated her creative curriculum and agile judgement. “She was a great teacher and super engaging,” said Paltrow.  “She asked thought-provoking questions and steered the discussion into a positive direction.  Her readings were captivating, and her course strayed from the chronological formula for teaching history.”Colleagues commented on Luther-Hillman’s diligence and collegial nature. History Instructor Kent McConnell remarked on his colleague’s keen analytical mind. “One of the attributes of an instructor I admire most about Betty is the quality of her mind, which enables her to analytically distinguish issues that are deeply woven together in a problem,” said McConnell. “Moreover, I deeply appreciate her selfless work ethic and her accountability to colleagues. Working with her has certainly been a pleasure, and she has contributed to the department’s mission in many critical ways.”Fellow History Instructor Hannah Lim agreed, saying, “I most admire Ms. Luther-Hillman’s pursuit of fairness and compassion in her on-campus endeavors. She is also generous with sharing her sharp and wry sense of humor.”In addition to her dedication in the classroom, Luther-Hillman has been advising the Daniel Webster Debate Society since she first came to Exeter six years ago. Her duties as debate coach include working with the captains to prepare members for tournaments, judging mock debates and chaperoning off-campus trips. “Ms. Lu-Hill consistently pushes us to be our best,” said senior Eric Tang, a long-time member and former captain of the club. “She has an incredible grasp of what works in debate and what doesn’t, and she uses that to offer us feedback on techniques and to chat about current events.”Echoing Tang’s sentiments, upper Grace Huang emphasized how committed Luther-Hillman is to helping debaters improve, especially the novice members. “For tournaments with more uncommon debating formats like public forum and policy, she would hold meetings with interested debaters in her classroom and make sure that everyone clearly understood what was going on,” said Huang.Debating is the activity that first stimulated Luther-Hillman’s academic curiosity, and it certainly maintains a significant role in her intellectual life. “I don’t think I was very intellectually challenged at my high school, and debate provided a world of intellectual challenge,” she said.  She also sees a strong correlation between debate and the study of history, as many skills developed in history class, such as researching and citing concrete examples to support arguments, are also essential in debate.  “Oftentimes in debate, we can use historical examples  to try to explain your reasoning of a certain side of a topic,” she noted.Luther-Hillman also credits debate with being one of the factors that initially drew her to teaching because of the positive impact her debate coaches had during her high-school years. “I really appreciated the support of my [high school] debate coaches both in terms of my intellectual development and also just being a support for me as a person,” she said, explaining how her work with the Daniel Webster Debate Society has stemmed from a personal desire to foster the next generation of debaters.During the school year, Luther-Hillman lives in Amen Hall with her spouse and daughter. Dorm life originally drew her to Exeter, as she had previously enjoyed her experience teaching at residential programs like the Johns Hopkins’ Center for Talented Youth (CTY). “Sometimes, I would chaperone the dance that the [CTY] students had, and it was fun to see them not just in the classroom but as people outside of the classroom. So I thought it would be neat to teach at a boarding school.” True to her original ideals, residential life has been a memorable experience for Luther-Hillman because of the impromptu conversations with girls in Amen, which led her to know them on a more personal level.For Amen residents, especially those in her advisee group, Luther-Hillman embodies the role model of a woman dedicated to her feminist values, who is always willing to advocate for her students. “She’s always so willing to help, no matter what time of the day it is, and you always know you can count on her to do her best to fight for you,” said senior Rachel Luo, a proctor in Amen Hall.Among older Amen students, memories of Luther-Hillman’s Wednesday night “Feminist Talks” are still fondly cherished. “We’d talk about all sorts of things. Sometimes we’d relate it to the assembly, or if something big had just recently happened on campus,” remembered upper Kat Dolan. After the talks were discontinued due to time concerns—“They’d go really late into the night,” said Dolan—many miss the chance of having a casual space to talk about critical issues.“For me, feminism is more than saying, but it’s about living your life and making daily choices that support the achievement of gender equality,” said Luther-Hillman, a married woman who refuses to wear a diamond ring as a personal demurral against the symbolism of the accessory, and whose hyphenated last name consists of her maiden name and a family name created by her and her spouse.  She hopes her students notice these choices and “see that as a way that someone can live their lives.”In her free time, Luther-Hillman enjoys camping and hiking with her family. Outdoor jogging is also another hobby, along with reading fiction novels.  “Ironically, I don’t really like to read history books in my free time,” she said, laughing, “although I read them to update my knowledge in my field.”