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Elisabeth Whiting Conrad papers

 Record Group
Identifier: UA-17.175

Scope and Contents

This collection contains two copies of “The Aesthetic: A Talk to Freshman Girls” written by Conrad between 1925 and 1928. In “The Aesthetic”, Conrad discusses “what place art, beauty, and the aesthetic have in life at the coeducational university of today,” and argues that while a young woman may have chosen to attend college in order to gain the knowledge and skills that will help her in the world, she cannot attain those things without “some vision of an ideal, and an appreciation of the noble and fine.”

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1925-1928

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Biographical Note

Elisabeth Whiting Conrad was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 15, 1886. She attended a number of schools, studying French seriously and eventually earning a B.A. (1909) and M.A. (1910) at the University of Wisconsin. After teaching and being named Dean of Women at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, she went back to the University of Wisconsin for her Ph.D. in 1917. In 1919 Conrad helped establish a Department of Physical Education for Women and a Women’s Building on The Ohio State University campus, and represented that institution at the World Christian Student Federation Conference in Peking, China. There she discussed women’s issues, such as coeducation, higher education, and industrial education, with Chinese leaders. Conrad became the Dean of Women at Michigan State University in 1928. She also taught classes in literature or phonetics and discussed how to maintain high academic standards and “surround the students with beauty.” Conrad Hall, built in 1964, is named in her honor.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (, 1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Legal Status

Copyright: Michigan State University.

Property Rights: Michigan State University.

Title
Elisabeth Whiting Conrad Papers
Status
4 Published And Cataloged
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository

Contact:
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330