Joy Paulson, a Minnesota native, moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1957 with her husband, David, an architect and design faculty member at the University of Colorado. In 1970, with three children in high school, Joy joined the wave of women returning to (or beginning) college. At CU she completed a BA, an MA, and a Ph.D. in Japanese History while also co-editing, with Dr. Joyce Lebra, three books: Women in changing Japan, Chinese Women in Southeast Asia, and Woman and Work in India. Joy's research involved extensive travel, especially in Japan, where she and David lived for seven months.