Lucia Russell Briggs

Lucia Russell Briggs
Briggs, from a Radcliffe College publication
Born(1887-12-03)December 3, 1887
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJanuary 10, 1960(1960-01-10) (aged 72)
Plymouth, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationCollege professor of English
Known forPresident of Miwaukee-Downer College (1921–1951)
FatherLeBaron Russell Briggs

Lucia Russell Briggs (December 3, 1887 – January 10, 1960) was an American professor of English and the second president of Milwaukee-Downer College in Wisconsin from 1921 to 1951. She also taught at Simmons University in Boston, and was the first woman to be president of the American Association of Colleges.

Early life and education

Briggs was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of LeBaron Russell Briggs and Mary Frances De Quedville Briggs. Her father was dean of Harvard College and president of Radcliffe College.[1] She was named for her grandmother, Lucia Jane Russell Briggs (1821–1881), a pastor's wife who sent money and encouragement to Walt Whitman during the American Civil War.[2]

Briggs graduated from Radcliffe College in 1909, and earned a master's degree there in 1912.[3] She received several honorary doctorates, including from Lawrence College in 1926, from Miami University in 1927, from Rockford College in 1936,[4] and from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1949.[5]

Career

Briggs taught school in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois before becoming a professor at Simmons College in 1915.[6] In 1919 she went to Paris for six months to serve on a French-American war relief committee. In 1921 she succeeded Ellen Clara Sabin to become the second president of Milwaukee-Downer College in Wisconsin.[7] The school's endowment and physical plant grew under her leadership.[8] She retired from the presidency in 1951, and moved back to Massachusetts.[9]

In 1928, Briggs was the first woman to be elected president of the Association of American Colleges.[8][5] She was president of the Association of Wisconsin Presidents and Deans, also in 1928.[5][10] In 1929 she gave an address to the annual meeting of the Kansas State Teachers Association.[11]

Publications

  • "Students and the Administration" (1928)[12]

Death and legacy

Briggs died in 1960, at the age of 72, at her home in Plymouth, Massachusetts.[6] Her papers are in the archives of Lawrence University.[13] There is a building at Lawrence University, Briggs Hall,[14] and a Lucia Russell Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award, both named for her.[8][15]

References

  1. ↑ "Le Baron Russell Briggs". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
  2. ↑ Lucia Jane Russell Briggs to Walt Whitman (April 21 1864), The Walt Whitman Archive .
  3. ↑ Palmer, Virginia A. (1983). "Faithfully Yours, Ellen C. Sabin: Correspondence between Ellen C. Sabin and Lucia R. Briggs from January, 1921, to August, 1921". The Wisconsin Magazine of History. 67 (1): 17–41. ISSN 0043-6534.
  4. ↑ "Downer College President to be Honored by Rockford College". The Morning Star. 1936-06-03. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 "University to honor 14 on June 17: Lucia R. Briggs". The Sheboygan Press. 1949-05-18. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 "Lucia Briggs Dies at 72; Head of Milwaukee-Downer College From 1921 to 1951". The New York Times. January 11, 1960. p. 45. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
  7. ↑ "Miss Briggs Made College President; Daughter of Harvard Dean Goes to Downer". The Boston Globe. 1921-04-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 "Presidential History". Lawrence University. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
  9. ↑ "Lucia R. Briggs to Retire from Milwaukee Downer". Chicago Tribune. 1950-10-05. p. 13. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "College Head to Present Address". The Oshkosh Northwestern. 1931-10-13. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Wichita Meeting of Educators will be Largest in Kansas". The Wichita Eagle. 1929-10-27. p. 33. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Briggs, Lucia R. (1928). "Students and the Administration". Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors (1915-1955). 14 (5): 323–324. doi:10.2307/40217966. ISSN 0883-1610.
  13. ↑ "Collection: Lucia R. Briggs Papers". Lawrence University Archives. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
  14. ↑ Thompson, Andy (1997-10-16). "In the Money: Five-year plan nets $66 million". The Post-Crescent. pp. 1, 14. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Alumni Awards". Lawrence University. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
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