Florence Purington

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Florence Purington
A middle-aged white woman, slightly smiling, wearing a high-collared lace-trimmed blouse under an academic robe
Florence Purington, from the Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections
BornAugust 12, 1862
Burnt Hills, New York
DiedMay 22, 1950
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Occupation(s)College administrator, professor

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.

Early life and education[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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]

Personal life[edit]

Purington lived with her sister Emily in South Hadley.[7] She died in 1950, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, aged 87 years.[1][2][3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Florence Purington, Holyoke Dean, Dies at 87". The Times Dispatch. 1950-05-23. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Collection: Florence Purington correspondence". Mount Holyoke and Hampshire College archives. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  3. ^ a b c d "Miss Purington, 87, Retired Educator; First Dean of Mount Holyoke and Former Treasurer Dies --Won Alumnae Honors". The New York Times. 1950-05-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  4. ^ "Mount Holyoke's Fund; Dean Purington Announces That It Has Reached $306,117". The New York Times. 1912-03-31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  5. ^ Purington, Florence (October 1917). "Vocational Opportunities as Seen by the College Appointment Bureau". Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly. 1 (3): 146.
  6. ^ "In the Busy World". The Phi Beta Kappa Key. 6 (4): 232–235. 1926. ISSN 2373-0331. JSTOR 42914050.
  7. ^ a b "First Dean of Mount Holyoke Dies at 87". Transcript-Telegram. 1950-05-22. pp. 1, 10. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Dean Florence Purington of Mt. Holyoke to Serve College for Another Year". Transcript-Telegram. 1928-04-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Miss Grote Wins High Award at Mount Holyoke". The Chattanooga News. 1939-07-31. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Florence Purington Prize Records, 1920-1950 Finding Aid". Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  11. ^ "Named Lectures and Addresses by Bertrand Russell". The Bertrand Russell Archives. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  12. ^ "Named Visiting Professor at Mount Holyoke". Transcript-Telegram. 1960-02-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Florence Purington Lecture Wednesday at Mount Holyoke". Transcript-Telegram. 1968-10-21. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "John Conway Named Visiting History Prof". Daily Hampshire Gazette. 1976-09-16. p. 19. Retrieved 2022-09-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Dembner, Alice (1982-08-04). "Contacts, Area Influenced Shirley Chisholm's Choice". Daily Hampshire Gazette. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  16. ^ "An Afterword on Shirley Chisholm". The Crisis. 90 (6): 33. June–July 1983.
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