Mount Vernon Seminary and College Alumnae Office records
Scope and Contents Note
Series 1 contains Alumane Bulletins, which were published from 1944 to 2003. Bulletins were published both as magazines and newspapers throughout the publication's lifespan. Their content offers researchers the opportunity to learn about Mount Vernon Seminary and College alumnae, happenings on campus, and alumnae acitivities. Issues contain information on the alumnae association, calendars of events, reunions, commencements, alumane directories, features, campus life, and updates on the lives of alumnae (i.e. marriage, birth of children, and death). Photographs of events and alumnae are also heavily featured in issues.
Series 2 contains Alumnae Directories published between 1933 and 2000. Directories contain information about the Alumnae Association and histories of Mount Vernon, as well as biographical listings, geographical indices, and class year indices of alumnae.
Series 3 contains the papers of Janet Maalouf, Director of the Mount Vernon College Alumnae Relations Office. The series includes Alumnae Executive Council and Task Force records, alumnae contact information, and reunion files.
Series 4 contains files from the Mount Vernon Seminary and College alumnae office including annual reports and correspondence with alumnae.
Dates
- Creation: 1933-2003
Creator
- Mount Vernon Seminary (Publisher, Organization)
- Mount Vernon College (Publisher, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access Note
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use Note
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
Biographical/Historical Note
The Mount Vernon Seminary was officially established by Elizabeth Somers in 1875 with classes held at her residence on F Street; she named it after her brother’s church in Baltimore, Mount Vernon Place Methodist. The Seminary began as a six year prepatory school, with four years of high school level classes, and two years of post-high school curriculum, calling it a “Family and Day School for Young Ladies.” In order to graduate, students had to complete a formal process of “Senior Essays” in which they completed primary research and wrote on a current political or social topic, including such provocative issues as child labor, prohibition, poverty, and women’s suffrage.
The school was moved to 1100 M. Street N.W. in 1900 and was once again moved in 1917 to a campus on Nebraska Avenue. In 1920 graduating class, eight women continued their education at universities such as the University of Wisconsin, Stanford, Northwestern and the University of Texas; by 1923 graduates were going to such other prestigious universities as UC-Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Smith College and the University of Chicago. Such advancements in higher education were uncommon for women of the day, but Mount Vernon was one of the premier prepatory institutions in the country.
In 1927, Mount Vernon established a Junior College, and with its establishment, students no longer had to complete six years of courses to receive a diploma; they graduated from the Seminary after four years and could continue on to the Junior College for two more years of college preparation. After World War II began, the U.S. Navy took over the campus in 1942 as a part of the war effort. During the 1943 academic year, the Seminary held classes in Spring Valley by leasing neighborhood residences. After receiving "just compensation" for their Nebraska Avneue campus, the school purchased 21 acres on Foxhall Road and surrounding areas in 1945, and had applied for accreditation to award Associates of Arts Degrees after completing two years of the Junior College.
Despite its expansion, by 1965 the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to dissolve the Seminary by 1969, as it could not financially support both institutions. During the 1960s, the Junior College developed new academic concentrations such as government, international relations and political science to reflect its location in the nation’s capital. At the same time, it began to phase out its vocational training such as home economics and secretarial skills to make room for these higher education courses.
By 1973, the Board of Higher Education licensed the college to award Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees such as Public Affairs, Government, Business Administration, Childhood, Special Education, and the Visual Arts, as well as honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and Juris Doctor Degrees; in 1976, the college received initial accreditation as a four-year college and was reaccredited ten years later. However, by 1996 the college announced a plan to affiliate with George Washington University and the last class of Mount Vernon College graduated in 1999. Today, as an affiliated campus of GWU, Mount Vernon offers special living accommodations, as well as learning and leadership programs for female students.
Extent
6.75 Linear Feet (11 document boxes, 1 slim document box, and 1 flat box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Mount Vernon Seminary was officially established by Elizabeth Somers in 1875 and a two year junior college was added in 1927. The Junior College remained open until 1969, when Mount Vernon College became a four-year unversity. The university was an independent institution until 1999, when it became affilated with The George Washington University. This collection contains Alumnae Bulletins published by the Alumnae Office from July 1944 to Spring 2003, as well as Alumnae Directories published from 1933 to 2000. Popular topics addressed in Bulletins include messages from the Mount Vernon president, scrapbooks, Foxhall footnotes, commencements, class notes (including an updated alumnae directory), honor rolls, special sections for alumnae, reunions, calendars, features, in memoriams, and campus performances. The Directories contain information about the Alumnae Association and histories of Mount Vernon, as well as biographical listings, geographical indices, and class year indices of alumnae.
Arrangement Note
Organized into four series: Alumnae Bulletins, Alumnae Directories, Janet Maalouf papers, and Alumnae Office files and correspondence.
Location Note
Materials may be stored off-site, and may require additional retrieval time. Please contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition Note
The Mount Vernon Seminary and College archives were acquired by GWU upon merger with Mount Vernon College. The collection was transferred to the Foggy Bottom campus in 2009.
Appraisal Note
Excess duplicates were removed.
Existence and Location of Copies Note
A set of Alumnae Bulletins is available in the Special Collections Research Center reading room.
Subject
- Mount Vernon Seminary (Organization)
- Mount Vernon College (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Mount Vernon Seminary and College Alumnae Office records, 1933-2003
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University
- Date
- 2011
- 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 Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University Repository
George Washington University Gelman Library
2130 H Street NW
Washington DC 20052 United States of America
speccoll@gwu.edu