Ruth Crawford Mitchell (June 2, 1890 – February 7, 1984) was the founding director of the University of Pittsburgh's

Nationality Rooms The Nationality Rooms are a group of 31 classrooms in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning depicting and donated by the national and ethnic groups that helped build the city of Pittsburgh. The rooms are designated as a Pittsbur ...

in the

Cathedral of Learning The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Standing at , the 42-story Late Gothic Revival Cath ...

and had major oversight during the design, drafting and creation of the rooms between 1926 and 1956. She also raised the necessary funding for the project in addition to supervising

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s and other contractors during the construction of the building. She worked with immigrants in Pittsburgh and overseas committees to establish sponsorship of each classroom. Mitchell was a lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh in the Department of

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. She led the project that resulted in the provision of support for foreign-born students at the University.

Early life

Mitchell's family also was active in working with ethnically diverse populations in the US and abroad. Mitchell's grandfather, Edward Parmelee Smith, worked for the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...

which provided educational opportunities for Native Americans. He later was the U.S. Commissioner of

Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...

and went on to become the President-elect of

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 ...

. Hanford Crawford, Mitchell's father, attended universities in Germany and met his wife in Stuttgart. Mitchell's parents married and moved to St. Louis where Hanford worked as an executive in a department store. Mitchell was born on June 2, 1890 in

Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey Atlantic Highlands is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in the Bayshore Region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,385,Vassar in 1912. She continued her education by earning a master's degree in social work at the

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

George Warren Brown School of Social Work The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is a school for the training of social science researchers. The Brown School offers a Master of Social Work (MSW), a Master of Public Health (MPH), a Master of Social Policy, a PhD in Socia ...

. Her Master's thesis was entitled '' The Immigrant in St. Louis''. She began doctoral work at Johns Hopkins but did not complete her studies there. In 1914, she worked as the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

's Field Secretary for the Immigration and Foreign Community Program of the YWCA.

Career

Ruth Crawford Mitchell was recognized for her efforts to assimilate second-generation students into the University.

Collection

Her personal and professional papers were donated to the University of Pittsburgh Library System on August 15, 1968. The collection consists mainly of Mitchell's Nativity Study conducted the University of Pittsburgh between 1926 and 1930. The Nativity Study was generated to document the attendance of

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

and first generation American students attending the university. The study was used to support efforts to provide better services for these students. The collection also contains other immigrant studies, personal papers and lecture notes.

References

External links

Nationality Rooms web siteNationality Rooms Virtual TourNationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Program Scholarships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Ruth Crawford University of Pittsburgh faculty American women economists 1890 births People from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 1984 deaths Economists from New Jersey 20th-century American economists Vassar College alumni George Warren Brown School of Social Work alumni