Sarah Gibson Blanding
| Sarah Gibson Blanding | |
|---|---|
Blanding in 1954
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| 6th President of Vassar College | |
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In office 1946–1964 |
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| Preceded by | Henry Noble MacCracken |
| Succeeded by | Alan Simpson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 22, 1898 |
| Died | March 3, 1985 (aged 86) |
| Education |
University of Kentucky Columbia University London School of Economics |
| Profession | College president College dean Basketball coach |
Sarah Gibson Blanding (November 22, 1898 – March 3, 1985) was an American educator and academic administrator who served as Vassar's sixth president (1946–1964) and its first female president. A strong public advocate, she worked hard to advance the professional, political, and academic place of women in the world and was a general proponent of expanded educational opportunity.
Blanding was born on a farm in Kentucky in 1898. She attended the New Haven Normal School of Gymnastics, where she graduated in 1919. That same year, Blanding was hired as a physical education instructor by the University of Kentucky, where she simultaneously began her undergraduate work in the A.B. program. While at UK she coached the women's basketball team from 1919 through 1922, leading the team to a 3-14-1 record. She played on the team as team captain in 1923 under coach A.B. "Happy" Chandler. Upon graduation in 1923, Blanding was appointed the university's acting dean of women, becoming the youngest dean in the country, at age twenty-four. Blanding obtained her master's degree in political science at Columbia University in 1926, and pursued graduate studies at the London School of Economics under Harold Laski. In 1929, she was appointed dean of women and professor of political science at the University of Kentucky. She served in these positions until 1941, when she was selected as the first dean of Cornell University's College of Home Economics and became the first female dean at Cornell.
Blanding was named president of Vassar College in 1946. One member of the Board of Trustees explained that they selected her because she impressed them as a "great personality". Indeed, Blanding was always known for her outspoken character; at Cornell she was praised for being an effectively aggressive administrator. Blanding herself credited her independent and charged personality to her upbringing on a farm and to the running of her own tobacco farm in Kentucky for many years.
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