June R. P. Ross

June Rosa Pitt Ross (2 May 1931 – 10 March 2012) was an Australian geologist, palaeontologist and biologist. She was amongst the first women to obtain a PhD in Australia, and one of the few women of the time to build a successful career in academia.

Early life and education June Rosa Pitt Phillips was born in Taree, NSW and attended Gosford High School where she was a competitive swimmer and school captain. At the encouragement of the school headmistress, she applied for and received a four-year scholarship to the University of Sydney, where she took a BSc with geology as a fourth subject in first year. After passing her third year exams with distinction, Ross undertook Honours work around Queanbeyan, NSW. At the time she did not have a car, instead renting rooms at farms and exploring the surrounding area on foot. At the university, she served as Chair of the Biology Department for several years and on the Faculty Senate for several years, spending one term as the president of the Senate. She was also a council member and then President of the International Association of Bryozoologists, and a council member and treasurer of the Paleontological Society for six years. Ross retired in 2004 as professor emeritus.

Outside the university, Ross was instrumental in establishing the local Family Planning Council and its successor, Planned Parenthood, of Whatcom County. She served as the first director of the Planned Parenthood clinic which was in the former St Luke's Hospital.