241:, now known as Minnesota State University, in 1871. After only one year, Sears made history by becoming the principal in 1872. At this point in history, this kind of achievement was not well documented or communicated well. For the next 50–80 years, there are documents of other women believed to be the first female presidents of a U.S. public college.
172:". Most of the notable members of the Sears family had an educational or religious backgrounds. Constant, Sears' father, was a sea captain who retired to become a cranberry farmer and salt manufacturer. Overall, the Sears' Family consists primarily of sea captains, religious figures in the Methodist and Baptist faiths, as well as educators.
221:, later to be named Farmington State Normal School. The principal of Western State Normal School was George M. Gage, but in 1868 he moved to Mankato, Minnesota. Julia Sears had known George Gage, as a schoolmate, at Bridgewater Normal School. After Gage's departure, Sears went to teach at Prescott School for Boys and Girls in
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from 1858 to 1860. Students were asked to affirm their devotion to becoming a teacher or they would be charged $ 10 for every term they attended the school. During her time at
Bridgewater Normal School, Sears worked closely with the principal, Marshall Conant. Conant had a passion for mathematics,
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You are stepping out into life at a time when you hear not the sound, 'thus far in education may you go and no farther, this place you may fill, but not that'; but, instead, universities and colleges open wide their doors and bid you enter, and any place you are fitted to fill is no longer denied
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At her death in 1929, the campus newspaper said, "Her precision, her accuracy, her fairness, her brilliant demonstrations, and, above all, her ability to inspire the ambition of all those she taught became famous incidents of her instruction at
Peabody." This quote was inscribed on the wall of a
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184:. Julia was the second youngest of six siblings: Thankful Snow, Emily, Sarah R., Betsey Thomas, and Amanda. Her mother had another daughter, who died in 1832. Julia had no uncles or brothers. As children, Julia and her sisters underwent religious training by
272:. In Nashville, she worked tirelessly as an advocate of women's rights and in particular the right to vote. She remained at Peabody until her retirement in 1907, and a portrait of her, painted in 1904, hangs today in the Peabody library.
225:. From 1869 to 1871, Sears was the Head Assistant in Boston. In the summer of 1870, George Gage offered Sears the position of Head Assistant at Mankato Normal School, but Sears refused this offer. During this time, Sears studied at the
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astronomy and mechanics, and possibly influenced Sears' later career choice of becoming a mathematics professor. At the end of her education, Julia Sears received a
General Diploma of the Institution, similar to a modern-day GED.
200:, from age five to age fifteen. She then most likely attended the East Dennis Academy from 1854 to 1858. During this time, Julia decided she wanted to be an educator. Sears moved away from home and attended
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However, such frankness was still controversial, and she was forced to leave the university after only a year. She retained considerable support among the students and the
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The First Female
President of a Co-Educational Public Institution of Higher Education: An Historical Examination of the Presidential Tenure of Julia Ann Sears, 1872-1873
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ministers, at month-long summer camps. In her later years, Sears recalled pretending to be a teacher when playing with friends.
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community. This support shifted into a protest, becoming so heated that it resulted in expulsions and was known as the
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She then took a post as professor of mathematics at
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405:"Mankato's teacher college was a 19th-century pioneer for women's rights — for about a year"
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Julia Ann Sears was born to
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Department of
Residential Life— Minnesota State University, Mankato
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Her first address to its female graduates was forthright, stating:
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newly constructed residence hall that was named in her honor at
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141:: Professor and Head of Mathematics Department, 1875 - 1907
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in 2015, and is a reminder of her impact on the community.
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504:Presidents of Minnesota State University, Mankato
380:"Mankato State Normal School controversy, 1873"
213:Between 1860 and 1866 Julia Sears taught at a
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514:Women heads of universities and colleges
434:(PDF document, quoting Sears in preface)
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499:Activists from Nashville, Tennessee
278:Minnesota State University, Mankato
95:Minnesota State University, Mankato
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484:American women's rights activists
448:Art Collection of Peabody Library
170:It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
489:People from Mankato, Minnesota
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128:Minnesota Historical Society
114:Bridgewater State University
60:1929 (aged 88–89)
432:Employee Guide, MSU Mankato
219:Western State Normal School
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479:Suffragists from Minnesota
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202:Bridgewater Normal School
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519:American women academics
146:Fairhaven, Massachusetts
32:Julia Ann Sears, c. 1872
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123:: President 1872-1873
266:Vanderbilt University
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239:Mankato Normal School
233:Mankato Normal School
139:Vanderbilt University
270:Nashville, Tennessee
438:The Sears Rebellion
223:Charlestown, Boston
378:Cameron, Harris.
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474:1929 deaths
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198:East Dennis
130:, St. Paul
65:Nationality
20:Julia Sears
463:Categories
414:2017-10-27
284:References
176:Early life
91:suffragist
73:Occupation
192:Education
186:Methodist
409:MinnPost
389:13 April
384:MNopedia
209:Teaching
162:Yarmouth
101:Overview
87:academic
76:Educator
68:American
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