Caroline Colvin was an American academic. She served as chair of the History Department at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

from 1906 to 1932, making her the first woman in the nation to a head major university department.

Biography

Colvin came to the university in 1902 at a time when the university, bolstered by its

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

institute status, was expanding its

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

programs to accompany its strong

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and

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

programs. Colvin's tenure at the university was marked by a series of firsts. In addition to being the first woman in the nation to head a major university department, Dr. Colvin was also the first woman on the University of Maine faculty, the first woman to lead a University of Maine department, and the University's first dean of women. As dean of women, Colvin advocated increased

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, and was a supporter of the Women's

Student Government A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

. She was the first ever honorary member of the All Maine Women

honor society In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...

. Colvin is the namesake of Colvin Hall, a facility used by the University of Maine Honors College. The facility houses both the Thomson Honors Center and a residence facility for Honors students. It was initially an all-women's dormitory where Dr. Colvin herself resided as House Mother. In the 1970s, it housed a campus co-op program where residents prepared their own meals until 1999, when it became the honors building. Colvin continues to live on in University folklore. The Northeast Archives of Folklore at the university's Maine Folklife Center contains interviews of numerous people who attest to seeing a female ghost roaming the halls of Colvin Hall—some speculating it to be Colvin herself.

Sources

* "Dr. Caroline Colvin Honored," by Dr. Ava Harriet Chadbourne '15. October 1930 issue of ''The Maine Alumnus'

* University of Maine Honors College—Colvin Hal

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Caroline University of Maine faculty Historians of Maine American women historians Year of birth missing Place of birth missing Year of death missing