Campus News

Media Contact: Rita Elliott, Director of Communications – 815-226-3374

Over the summer the US Treasury is soliciting input to help decide which American woman should be featured on the new $10 bill. Treasury ‌Secretary Jacob J. Lew has decided that the new $10 note should feature a woman who was a champion for our inclusive democracy and will announce his selection later this year. The new bill is expected to be unveiled in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the passage of the nineteenth amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The US Treasury has established the hashtag #TheNew10 for use in this effort.

Rockford alumna and Nobel Laureate Jane Addams is a strong candidate whose name is already circulating for consideration. See the Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune. Jane Addams graduate from then Rockford Female Seminary in 1831 as the validicotrial and first bachelor’s degree recipient. She went on to found Hull-House in Chicago and became a tranfomative force for deomocarcy, social justice and welfare reform. An international voice for peace, Addams was a fouding member of the Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom and was the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

Rockford University would like to encourage everyone to help to elevate Jane Addams for consideration on the new $10 by sharing the US Treasury hashtag #TheNew10, adding #JaneFitsTheBill and Jane Addams’ full name in posts.

RU will be helping promote #TheNew10 via our Facebook and Twitter pages. We encouraging everyone to participate and to feel free to share, like, and retweet our posts or create your own using hashtags #TheNew10 and #JaneFitsTheBill.

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In 2013, the Treasury Department selected the $10 note for redesign based on a number of factors. The next generation of currency, starting with the new $10 note, will include various design features that celebrate democracy. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew has decided that the new $10 note should feature a woman who was a champion for our inclusive democracy and will announce his selection later this year. We expect to unveil the new ten in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the passage of the nineteenth amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The passage of the nineteenth amendment granted women their right to fully participate in the system our country was founded on—a government by the people, a democracy.

Historically, the Secretary has relied on the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) to provide advice on themes, symbols and concepts to be used on currency. However, the Secretary is asking for the public’s views on what qualities best represent democracy to help guide the design process.

Over the summer, Secretary Lew, Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin, Treasurer Rosie Rios, and other Administration officials will be conducting roundtables, town halls, and other meetings to collect input. Throughout the process, the Treasury team will be reviewing all the comments coming in to this website and content tagged with our “TheNew10” hashtag. Treasury staff will review the input received and provide information to Secretary Lew over the course of the discussion.