Georgia Laura White (April 28, 1872 – May 15, 1949) was an American economics professor and college administrator. She was Dean of Women at Olivet College, Cornell University, and Carleton College. She also taught at Michigan State University, Smith College, and Fisk University.

Georgia Laura White
A white woman with dark hair dressed back to the nape, wearing a lacy high-collared shirtwaist or dress
Georgia Laura White, from a 1915 publication
BornApril 28, 1872
Nashville, Tennessee
DiedMay 15, 1949
Boston, Massachusetts
Occupation(s)Educator, economist, sociologist, college administrator
RelativesRev. Erastus Milo Cravath (uncle)
Paul D. Cravath (cousin)

Early life and education

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Georgia Laura White was born in Nashville, Tennessee,[1][2] the daughter of George Leonard White and Laura Amelia Cravath White. Her parents, both from New York abolitionist families, both taught at Fisk University in Nashville. Her father was treasurer and music director at the school, credited with organizing the Fisk Jubilee Singers, around the time of White's birth.[3][4] Her uncle was Erastus Milo Cravath, president of Fisk; her brother William Cravath White was a prominent attorney.[5]

She trained as a teacher in Fredonia, New York,[6] and graduated from Lake Erie Seminary in Ohio. She completed an undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 1896, pursued further studies in Germany, and earned a Ph.D. in 1901, also from Cornell,[7] with a dissertation titled "The Part Taken by Women in the Charity Work in Prussia."[8][9]

Career

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White taught in high schools in Indiana and Pennsylvania while she was working on her Ph.D. She taught economics and sociology at Smith College from 1903 to 1911.[10] She was Dean of Women at Olivet College in Michigan beginning in 1905. From 1913 to 1918[11] she was Dean of Home Economics at Michigan Agricultural College.[8][12] During World War I, she served on the Michigan Women's War Board.[6]

She returned to her alma mater to become Dean of Women at Cornell University from 1918 to 1926,[13] and was Dean of Women at Carleton College in Minnesota from 1926 to 1930.[1][14]

White was a trustee of Fisk University from 1926 to 1928.[15][16] She taught English at Fisk University from 1934 to 1936.[4]

Personal life

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White lived in Boston with physician and fellow Cornell alumna Juanita P. Johns[13] from 1933 until she died in May 1949, just after her 77th birthday.[3][4] The Cornell Women's Club of New York established a Georgia Laura White Memorial Fund in her memory.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Dr. Georgia L. White, Educator, Dies". The Tennessean. 1949-05-17. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Dr. Georgia L. White". The Boston Globe. 1949-05-16. p. 17. Retrieved 2021-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "313 Commonwealth". Back Bay Houses. 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  4. ^ a b c "Educator Dies". The Bristol News Bulletin. 1949-05-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "WILLIAM CRAVATH WHITE.; Scarsdale Village Attorney Was Father of Zoning Laws There". The New York Times. 1934-12-24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  6. ^ a b "Well-known Educator Lived in Fredonia". Dunkirk Evening Observer. 1949-05-26. p. 19. Retrieved 2021-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Cornell University (1901). The University Records. p. 378.
  8. ^ a b Babcock, Hannah. "Biographical Sketch of Georgia Laura White". Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920, Alexander Street Documents. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  9. ^ Beal, William James (1915). History of the Michigan agricultural college and biographical sketches of trustees and professors. The Library of Congress. East Lansing, Agricultural college. p. 469 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ Official Circular of Smith College. Smith College. 1906. p. 53.
  11. ^ "Morrill Kiosk". Michigan State University. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  12. ^ Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station (1919). Annual Report. p. 17.
  13. ^ a b "Dean White Entertains" (PDF). Cornell Alumni News. November 23, 1919. p. 117. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  14. ^ "Former Dean at Carleton Dies". The Minneapolis Star. 1949-05-16. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Thomas E. Jones Elected Head of Fisk University". The Hustler. 1926-02-23. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Three Trustees of Fisk Named". Nashville Banner. 1928-06-06. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Frances Corbin Sings with Cornell A Cappella". The Sunday News. 1953-04-19. p. 57. Retrieved 2021-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.