Florence Purington
American college professor (1862–1950)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Florence E. Purington (August 12, 1862 – May 22, 1950) was an American college administrator and mathematics professor. She was the first dean of Mount Holyoke College, holding that office from 1907 to 1929.
Florence Purington | |
|---|---|
Florence Purington, from the Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections | |
| Born | August 12, 1862 Burnt Hills, New York |
| Died | May 22, 1950 (aged 87) Holyoke, Massachusetts |
| Occupations | College administrator, professor |
Early life and education
Florence Purington was born in Burnt Hills, New York,[1] the daughter of Lewis Madison Purington and Emily Sherman Purington. She graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1886, and earned a bachelor's degree at Mount Holyoke College in 1896.[2]
Career
Purington was on the faculty of Mount Holyoke College from 1887 to 1929, at first as a mathematics instructor, and then as treasurer from 1902 to 1907,[3] then as the first dean of the college from 1907 to 1929.[4][5] She was on the board of three women's colleges in India.[3] From 1925 to 1942, she was on the college's board of trustees.[1] In 1926 and 1927 she traveled to India, Ceylon, China, and Japan to visit Mount Holyoke alumnae who were American missionaries working in those countries.[2][6] She was president of the National Association of Deans from 1925 to 1926,[7] and active in the American Association of University Women (AAUW).[3] When she retired in 1929, she was replaced by two women, Alice Brown Frame as dean of residence, and Harriet May Allyn as social dean.[8]
Honors
The Florence Purington Prize was established by Mount Holyoke alumnae in 1919, and presented annually to a high-ranking first-year student until 1950.[9][10] The Florence Purington Lectures at Mount Holyoke featured prominent campus visitors, who are given the Purington Chair; Bertrand Russell held the Florence Purlington Visiting Professorship in 1950.[11] Poet W. H. Auden, philosopher Walter Terence Stace,[12] historian Geoffrey Bruun, geneticist Salome Gluecksohn-Waelsch,[13] historian John Conway,[14] and politician Shirley Chisholm later occupied the Purington Chair.[15][16]