Caroline Salome Woodruff (July 15, 1866 – July 13, 1949) was an American educator and poet from Vermont. She was president of the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

from 1937 to 1940. She was principal of the Castleton Teachers' College from 1921 to 1940. Castleton_state_college_Woodruff_Hall

Early life and education

Woodruff was born in

West Burke, Vermont West Burke is a village in the town of Burke, Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 281 at the 2020 census. Geography West Burke is located north of the village of Lyndonville along U.S. Route 5. Vermont Route 5A inters ...

, the daughter of George Washington Woodruff and Octavia Darshula Bemis Woodruff. Her uncle was Charles Woodruff, a noted general in the United States Army. She graduated

St. Johnsbury Academy St. Johnsbury Academy (SJA) is an independent, private, coeducational, non-profit boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in the United States. The academy enrolls students in grades 9-12. It was founded by Thaddeus Fairbanks ...

in 1884, and from Johnson Normal School in 1918. In 1925, she received an honorary master's degree in education at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

. In 1933 she received an honorary doctorate in education at

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

; it was the first honorary doctorate bestowed on a woman at that military institution.

Career

Woodruff taught as a young woman, and was principal of Castleton Teachers' College from 1921 to 1940, including during the 1924 fire that burned the school's main building. She was co-principal of the Green Mountain School for Girls, and from 1937 to 1938 served as president of the National Education Association. She was the first woman to serve as president of the Vermont State Teachers Association, and was president of the New England Teacher Training Association. She retired in 1940. Woodruff published a book of poetry, ''My Trust and Other Verse'' (1925). She also wrote articles for professional journals, including the ''

Journal of Education The Journal of Education () is an academic journal, published by SAGE Publishing on behalf of the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, with Hardin Coleman as its editor-in-chief. It bills itself as "the oldest educ ...

''.

Personal life

Woodruff died in 1949, aged 82 years, in

Castleton, Vermont Castleton is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. Castleton is about to the west of Rutland, the county's seat and most populous city, and about east of the New York/Vermont state border. The town had a population of 4,458 at the ...

. Woodruff Hall, a main building at Castleton University, is named for her. Castleton University also presents a Caroline Woodruff Award as "the highest honor that a student leader can achieve".

References

External links

* Cora Wilson Stewart
"Director of the Castleton, Vermont Normal School Caroline Woodruff with Mamie and Grace Barber"
an undated photograph in the collection of the University of Kentucky Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodruff, Caroline S. 1866 births 1949 deaths People from Rutland County, Vermont American women educators Castleton University people Johnson State College alumni American women poets Presidents of the National Education Association