In celebration of Women’s History Month, throughout March, we will highlight women who have made an impact on Case Western Reserve University and their fields.
Emma Maud Perkins was an early faculty member at Western Reserve University’s College for Women, joining the faculty in 1892, just four years after the school’s establishment. Born in 1859 in Winchester, New Hampshire, Perkins studied at Vassar College, graduating as valedictorian, and then taught at Central High School, the first public high school in Cleveland.
At Western Reserve, Perkins taught for 37 years as the Woods Professor of Latin. She was a prolific public speaker, gardener and suffragette, and served in several non-academic roles, including on the Cleveland Board of Public Education and as president of the American Association of University Women.
The former Perkins House residence hall was named in Perkins’ honor, becoming the first building at Western Reserve University to be named for a female faculty member.