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Information
on Mary Rippon (in place of a resume)
Personal -
- Born May 25, 1850, on a farm in Lisbon Center, Illinois.
- Raised by guardians with trust fund from her father.
- Secretly married to Will Housel, June 9, 1888.
- Active in Boulder Congregational Church.
- One of three co-founders of
Boulder Fortnightly Club.
- Died September 9, 1935.
- Mary Rippon Theater dedicated
in her memory in June, 1936.
Professional
-
- High school education at Illinois Normal
School,
Normal, Illinois. Joseph Sewall was one of her teachers. Mary
Rippon graduated spring, 1868.
- Studied
at universities in Hannover, Germany; Lausanne, Switzerland; and Paris, France, 1871-1876. No record of
any degree, not even a bachelor's.
- Taught German at Detroit High
School,
Detroit, Michigan, 1876-1877 and fall of 1877.
- Joined faculty of University of Colorado as an instructor in January, 1878, during CU's first academic year. Joseph Sewall was CU's first
president He, Justin Dow, and Mary Rippon
were the first faculty members. Mary
Rippon was first woman professor at
CU. She taught French and German.
(Boulder was a "frontier" town of 3,000 at the time.)
- Promoted to full professor and Chair of Department
of modem languages, spring, 1881. Still
taught French and German.
- Became Chair of the Department of German language and
literature, 1891
- From
then on, only taught German.
- Served as unofficial Dean of Women before first dean
was hired in 1901.
- Was highly respected and loved. Was
role model to female students. Retired
from CU in June, 1909. First at CU
to receive Carnegie Pension. Remained in Boulder 'and followed development of CU until her death in
1935.
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