Adams, Elizabeth Kemper, 1872-

Elizabeth Kemper Adams was born in Nashostah, Wisconsin. She attended Vassar College where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1893, going on to get her doctorate at the University of Chicago in 1904. Adams taught at Vassar College and Western Reserve University before becaming a Professor of Philosophy at Smith College in 1905. In 1911 she was named the first Director of the Education Department. Here she focused on the history of education and the place and needs of women in contemporary education. Adams wrote several books and articles, including: Open Marks versus Closed, The Vocational Movement and College Women and her doctoral thesis, The Aesthetic Experience: Its Meaning in a Functional Psychology. During her time at Smith, Professor Adams also sat on the Faculty Committee on Recommendations and the Association of Collegiate Alumnae Committee on Vocational Opportunities for Women. Adams retired from teaching in 1916 due to prolonged illness. She continued to write and to take interest in Smith College until her death in 1949 in Brattleboro, Vermont.

From the guide to the Elizabeth Kemper Adams Papers RG 42., 1899 - 1915, (Smith College Archives)