Mary Caffrey Low Carver
| Mary Caffrey Low Carver | |
|---|---|
Mary Caffrey Low in 1875
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| Born | March 22, 1850 |
| Died | March 4, 1926 (aged 75) |
| Occupation | Librarian |
Mary Caffrey Low Carver (March 22, 1850 - March 4, 1926) was an American librarian and educator. She was one of the five founding members of the Sigma Kappa sorority and a pioneering advocate for women's education, along with being an accomplished library scientist and writer.
Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, became the first New England college to admit women along with men when Low became the first female student at Colby in 1871, and for two years remained the only one. Eventually she was joined by four other women, and along with Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Fuller, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn, Low created Sigma Kappa sorority at Colby on November 9, 1874. Low was the first woman to appear on the rolls of Sigma Kappa and the first to preside over an initiation. She was also the first woman to be invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.
As the only women enrolled in the college, the five of them found themselves together frequently. In 1873-74, the five young women decided to form a literary and social society. They were instructed by the college administration that they would need to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa Sorority. They began work during that year and on November 9, 1874, the five young women received a letter from the faculty approving their petition. They sought for and received permission to form a sorority with the intent for the organization to become national.
In July 1875, Low became the first female graduate of Colby College, at 25 years of age. She was the valedictorian of her class. She was one of the first women in America to receive a full-fledged Bachelor of Arts degree. In those days, it was not customary for women to give public speeches, especially at solemn occasions such as graduation ceremonies, but Low gave the class prayer in Latin, but not the valedictory speech. Colby's website now calls her the "grandmother of coeducation at Colby."
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