Florence Matilda Read (1886 – 1973) was an American college president who was raised in
Delevan, New York
Delevan is a village in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,064 at the 2020 census. The village is within the town of Yorkshire
History
The first lot was cleared ''circa'' 1821. The name of the area was changed f ...
.
She was president of
Spelman College from 1927–1953 and wrote a book about the
historically black college.
Life and work
Read received her B.A. from
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
in 1909
and served as alumnae secretary.
In 1911, Read moved to
Portland, Oregon where she was secretary to the president of
Reed College, a post she held until 1920. During World War I, Read worked at the
Council of National Defense in Washington, D.C. and later with the
YMCA in France.
From 1920 to 1927, Read served as executive secretary of the
International Health Division
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carn ...
of the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
.
Spelman College
In 1927, Read was named President of
Spelman College a
historically black college for women in Atlanta. During her time as president, enrollment almost doubled and the college's reputation in the liberal arts was enhanced.
On April 11, 1929, which was also Spelman's 48th celebration of Founder's Day, Read was a co-signer of the Agreement of Affiliation between
Spelman College,
Morehouse College
, mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made")
, type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college
, academic_affiliations ...
and
Atlanta University. That agreement was signed in President Read's office, and the signees breakfasted together afterward.
While she was president at Spelman, she also became superintendent of Atlanta University and helped make arrangements to incorporate women students at Atlanta University into the Spelman student body and college community.
Later years
Read was elected Spelman's President Emeritus when she retired in 1953. In 1955, she researched what would later become her history of Spelman College while living in
South Hadley, Massachusetts
South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...
. Read died in 1973.
Honors and awards
* Read was awarded an honorary degree by
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
in 1939.
* In 1961 Reed College awarded her an honorary degree.
* In 1962, Mount Holyoke College bestowed on her the Alumnae Medal of Honor.
Written work
*''The Story of Spelman College''. Atlanta, Georgia (1961)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Florence M.
Mount Holyoke College alumni
1886 births
1973 deaths
Heads of universities and colleges in the United States
20th-century American academics