November 21, 2014 / / Comments Off on Movember Motivation: Faculty Facial Hair
All month we’ve been providing photos of historical chinstraps, muttonchops, and sidewhiskers to motivate your Movember efforts over on Twitter. Today the fun comes to the blog with a look at some fancy faculty facial hair, courtesy of the 1897 Makio yearbook. To vote, select the button next to the photo you like best and then click “Vote” at the bottom of the poll.
March 27, 2014 / drobik.5@osu.edu / Comments Off on Women’s History Month: 90 years ago, first woman appointed as Trustee
Alma Paterson, n.d.
It was 90 years ago today that the first woman was named to Ohio State’s Board of Trustees. Alma W. Paterson was a member of Ohio State’s class of 1904; as an undergraduate, Paterson had been a member of the Browning Dramatic Society and studied science and physical education. She received her bachelor of arts degree in 1904 and went on to serve as an assistant director of physical education for women for three years. In 1910, she married Robert G. Paterson, a 1905 OSU graduate, who was then executive secretary of the Ohio Public Health Association.
Alma Paterson was appointed to the Board on March 27, 1924, to succeed the late OSU Prof. Thomas Mendenhall. Then-Ohio Gov. A. Victor Donahey had already indicated that the next appointment to the board would be a woman since “the large number of women registered at the University warrants the selection,” according to a Lantern article about her appointment. Paterson was on the board until 1933, serving as vice chairman twice during that time.
Paterson with the Board of Trustees, 1926
In 1954, the Board of Trustees named Paterson Hall, then a brand-new dorm for women, after her.
Paterson’s daughter, Ann, followed in her mother’s footsteps, first as a student (BS in Education in 1937 and MS in Education in 1939) and then as a professor of women’s physical education. After 19 years of teaching at OSU, she left the University in 1956 to teach at San Francisco State College.
February 14, 2014 / / Comments Off on Elzy’s voice took her from OSU to Broadway and beyond
Ruby Elzy, 1930
When Ruby Elzy showed up at OSU as a freshman in 1927, she “couldn’t read one [musical] note from another,” she told the Lantern in 1937. By 1936, though, she was playing “Serena” in “Porgy and Bess” on Broadway.
It was actually a chance encounter with an OSU professor in her home state of Mississippi that began her journey to stardom. Growing up, Elzy traveled with her three siblings around Mississipi as their mother made trips to various schools in rural districts. Elzy was responsible for her younger siblings when her mother was at work and was taught basic schooling by her mother. When Elzy was 11 years old, her mother got her a job washing tablecloths at a local women’s center associated with Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. When Elzy was old enough, she attended Rust College.
Royal D. Hughes, 1926
One day, OSU Education Prof. Charles C. McCracken was visiting with the president of Rust College in the president’s office. Since it was summer in Mississippi, all the windows were open, and their meeting was interrupted by singing from a nearby building. McCracken insisted on hearing a performance of the singer – Elzy – and convinced her to study music at Ohio State. So Elzy came to Ohio State in autumn 1927, after the school of music had awarded her with the Presser Foundation Music Scholarship. Since she couldn’t read music, then-School of Music director Royal Hughes taught her himself.
Music Building (formerly the President’s home), 1922
After her graduation from Ohio State in 1930, she received the Rosenwald Scholarship to Julliard School of Music in New York. She was “discovered” again while singing in a choir in New
York that had been recruited to sing in the movie “Emperor Jones.” The director liked her dialect and knowledge of African-American spirituals, so he made her a supporting character, to none other than Paul Robeson.
In 1936, George Gershwin chose her to play “Serena” in his opera, “Porgy and Bess.” She sang the world premiere of that opera, and the following year received an invitation to perform at the White House. She also performed on national radio. She died unexpectedly on June 26, 1943, in Detroit after complications from surgery.
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