Esther (Mohr) McGill Raushenbush, 1898-1980

Esther (Mohr) McGill Raushenbush, professor and college president, was born on November 22, 1898, of Jewish immigrant parents who had settled in Seattle, Washington. She was raised in a large family, attended Seattle public schools, and received her A.B. (1921) and A.M. (1922) in English from the University of Washington.

In 1923 EMR came east to marry Jerry McGill, a graduate student at Harvard, against her parents' wishes. She attended Radcliffe as a graduate student, 1924-1925, but did not complete her degree. After travel and study abroad EMR taught at Wellesley College and then at Barnard. She was divorced from Jerry McGill in 1932 and married Carl Raushenbush, a labor economist, in 1935. She was appointed professor of English at Sarah Lawrence College, became dean in 1946, and in 1962, founder and first director of the Center for Continuing Education, the purpose of which was to help women finish their education and training. She served as president of Sarah Lawrence from 1965 to 1969.

After retirement, EMR was consultant to the John Hay Whitney Foundation, 1970-1979, helping to develop programs for minorities. She served on the boards of many educational institutions, and was author of numerous articles on education and of The Student and His Studies (1964). She received an honorary degree from the University of Freiburg, an alumnae award from the University of Washington (1965), and the Sachar award from Brandeis University.

For additional biographical information, see EMR's oral history interview, OH-36.

From the guide to the Papers, 1945-1979, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)