Towle, Katherine Amelia, 1898-1986

Katherine Amelia Towle was born in 1898 in Towle, California (The town was named for her paternal grandfather and his two brothers who came from Vermont in the early 1850's). She moved to Berkeley in 1908. She graduated with honors from University of California, Berkeley in 1920, then later earned a Master's degree in political science in 1935. She entered the Marine Corps in 1943 and served until 1953. After retiring from the Marine Corps, Colonel Towle was associated with the University of California at Berkeley in various capacities: as Dean of Women from 1953 to 1960; as Assistant Dean of Students from 1960 to 1965; as Dean of Students, 1965 to 1966; and later as Dean of Students, Emeritus. She was the first female to serve as Dean of Students. Towle died on March 2, 1986. In 2005, a new residence hall at U.C. Berkeley was named after Colonel Towle.