Vera Mildred Burridge Baits (1892–1963) was a member of the Board of Regents for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1943-1958.

Early life and education

Vera Mildred Burridge was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 15, 1892 to George and Ellen (Roe) Burridge. Burridge earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1915 in addition to a Teachers' Certificate that same year. While at the University of Michigan she was a member of the

Delta Gamma Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a women's fraternity in the United States and Canada with over 250,000 initiated members. It has 150 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's executive office is in Columbus ...

sorority,

Mortar Board Mortar Board is an American national honor society for college seniors. Mortar Board has 233 chartered collegiate chapters nationwide and 15 alumni chapters. History Mortar Board was the first national honor society for college senior women ...

and the Women's Editor of

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other stu ...

. Burridge also attended Graduate School at 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 ...

, 1916-1917.

Work

Prior to marrying Stuart Baits, Burridge used her teaching degree to teach school for one year in the

Ironwood, Michigan Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about south of Lake Superior. The city is on US Highway 2 across the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost city in Michigan, ...

school district, two years of teaching English at the

Riverside-Brookfield High School Riverside Brookfield High School (RBHS) is a secondary school located directly between Riverside, Illinois, and Brookfield, Illinois, which educates grades 9-12. It serves the towns of Riverside, North Riverside, Broadview, and parts of LaGran ...

in Riverside, Illinois in addition to teaching English for two years at Northeastern High School in the

Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...

system. She also spent a summer writing for the old Chicago Record-Herald.

Organizational Leadership

Baits was very active in volunteer organizations. Her first membership was in the Detroit Association of University of women, beginning in 1918. She served as their President, as delegate to the Alumnae Council for five years and a member of the Alumni Advisory Council. For two years she was a member of the Board of Governors of Alumnae House and for four years served on the Board of Governors for

Martha Cook Building Martha Cook is a Collegiate Gothic women's residence hall at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The building houses approximately 140 women pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University. Women may live in the building th ...

residence. Baits was also civic minded, serving as Chairman of Metropolitan Education Committee, the Detroit Young Women's Christian Association (4 years), Chairman of Central Branch, Detroit

Young Women's Christian Association 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 ...

(YWCA),and Member of Speakers' Bureau, Detroit chapter of

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. She was also active in cultural activities in her community of Grosse Pointe.

UM Regent

Baits was the second woman to be appointed a Regent, May 14, 1943, by Governor Harry Kelly to fill the unexpired term of the late Franklin M. Cook. In 1949 she was elected on the Republican ticket to an eight-year term ending on December 31, 1957. Baits brought to the Regency leadership for the cause of higher education and leadership among the alumnae of the university.

Awards

Baits was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Service Award of the University of Michigan, June 13, 1959 for her efforts on behalf of Higher Education and he contributions as a Regent of the University. Baits I & Baits II Houses were opened in the Fall of 1966 in order to fulfill the needs of upper class and graduate students. University of Michigan Alumnae Club of Grosse Pointe established a four-year tuition scholarship in memory of Mrs. Baits.

Personal life

Burridge married Stuart Gordon Baits 1914 B.E.E. of

Hudson Motor Car Company The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other branded automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., from 1909 until 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was continued through ...

in 1919. They had two children: Jane (Mrs. Robert Gordon Shedd) A.B. 1942, and Stephen Stuart BSE (M.E.)1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baits, Vera Burridge 1892 births 1963 deaths Regents of the University of Michigan University of Michigan alumni The Michigan Daily alumni 20th-century American academics