In 1969, La Belle began teaching at Caltech. Caltech had not yet admitted women undergraduates, and she was the first woman appointed as a tenure-track professor at Caltech.
Olga Taussky-Todd had been tenured as a professor in 1963, but had initially been hired as a research associate. In 1974, the English department recommended La Belle for tenure unanimously.
Princeton University Press had recently contracted to publish her book
The Echoing Wood of Theodore Roethke. The department's recommendation was rejected by the Humanities and Social Sciences Division, then chaired by economic historian
Robert Huttenback. Caltech's position ultimately emerged from consideration by
Lew Wasserman for the Board of Trustees and
Robert Christy, the provost. Caltech initiated several measures to reduce sex discrimination and acceded to La Belle's reinstatement with promotion to associate professor in 1977 and with reconsideration for tenure in 1979. Years later, La Belle reflected in a
Los Angeles Times column on the implications of her history in the larger context of sex discrimination in employment. == Books ==