Colton, Elizabeth Avery (1872–1924)

views updated

Colton, Elizabeth Avery (1872–1924)

American educator. Born Dec 30, 1872, at outpost in Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory; died Aug 15, 1924, in Clifton Springs, NY; dau. of James Hooper Colton (missionary) and Harriet Eloise (Avery) Colton (missionary); sister of Susanne Colton (missionary); Statesville (NC) Female College, BA; attended Mount Holyoke; Columbia University Teachers College, BS, 1903, AM, 1905.

Taught at Queen's College (Charlotte, NC) and Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA); became head of English department at Meredith College (then known as Baptist University for Women) in Raleigh, NC (1908); helped organize Southern Association of College Women (SACW, 1903) and served as chair of committee on standards of colleges (from 1910), secretary (1912–14), and president (1914–19); known for raising standards of college education for women in the South, made detailed survey of women's colleges there and published findings in bulletins, including The Various Types of Southern Colleges for Women (1916); her evaluation provided guidelines for accreditation by the SACW.

More From encyclopedia.com