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Mary Elizabeth Branch (May 29, 18811944) was an educator who served as president of Tillotson College. She helped it grow and develop. A Black American female, she was an influential leader.


Early life and education

Branch was born on May 29, 1881, in
Farmville, Virginia Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 8,216 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County. Farmville developed near the headwaters of the Appomattox R ...
, to formerly enslaved parents Tazewell Branch and Harriet Branch. Her father served two terms the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
. Both her parents were literate, and taught Mary at home, though she also attended school. After high school she earned her teaching degree at
Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...
, and taught at an elementary school in
Blackstone, Virginia Blackstone, formerly named Blacks and Whites, and then Bellefonte, is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, Nottoway County in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 3,621 at the 2010 census. History The settlement was founded as the vill ...
.


Professional career

Branch returned to Virginia State College to teach; she stayed there for twenty years, and at the same time earned a BA (1922) and then an MA (1925) from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. After Virginia State College, Branch became a dean at
Vashon High School Vashon High School is a high school of the St. Louis Public Schools in St. Louis, Missouri. When it opened in 1927, it was the second high school for black students in St. Louis. History Designed by Rockwell M. Milligan, the school opened on Sep ...
in St Louis. After that she became president at Tillotson College in Austin,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, where she stayed until retirement. The college had seen enrollment decline, and the year before Branch's arrival it was demoted to a junior college for women. Branch had new buildings built and existing ones renovated. The library was enlarged, and so was the number of teachers. With a successful recruitment strategy, aided by her ability to raise funds, she managed to grow enrollment from less than 150 in 1930 to 500. She also strengthened ties with the community. After five years, Tillotson became a co-ed four-year college and joined the American Association of Colleges. Branch was the first and only African American female president of an institution in this Association. In 1944, she assisted in establishing the
United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...
(UNCF) and served as President of the Austine chapter. She died in 1944 in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Branch was a member of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...
.


Awards

In 1935,
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
appointed her to the National Youth's Administration's Negro Advisory Board for Texas. At her alma mater, Virginia State University named a residence after Branch. Branch was awarded degrees of honor from Virginia State College and
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
.


See also

* List of presidents of Huston–Tillotson University


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Mary Elizabeth 1881 births 1944 deaths Presidents of Huston–Tillotson University African-American educators African-American women educators People from Farmville, Virginia Virginia State University alumni Women heads of universities and colleges