Anna Westman
Instructor of mathematics, 1892-1894; assistant in English, 1896-1897
(This series of Notable Faculty profiles was written in celebration 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@'s sesquicentennial in 2009.)
Anna Lovisa Westman was born Jan. 7, 1863, in S?by, J?nk?ping, Sweden. She was one of seven children. In 1868, her family immigrated to Chicago, later moving to the Illinois prairies.
Anna enrolled in 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@'s Preparatory Department, which acted like a high school, when she was 23, and two years later became a student at 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@. Westman elected to take the "scientific course," or major, an unusual choice for a woman of her time. While Westman's studies would have included courses in many scientific disciplines, she concentrated on mathematics, studying under popular professor Andrew Woods Williamson.
In 1891, her senior year, Westman was named principal of 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@'s Ladies' Hall, the home of 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@'s female students. There she would have had a function something like that of the director of a boarding house. Westman graduated from 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ in 1892; she was only the third woman to graduate from the college.
Upon her graduation, Westman was offered a position as instructor of mathematics, thus becoming thus becoming 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@'s first female faculty member. While teaching at 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@, Westman studied for her master's in English, also taking classes in Italian and philosophy, although there is no record of her completing another degree.
In 1894-1895, Westman studied at the University of Berlin. In 1896 she returned to 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@, where she taught English for a year. Then, at age 34, she left both 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ and academia and moved to Cleveland, Ohio.
Westman died on Aug. 1, 1910. A year after her death, a donor who wished to remain anonymous established the Anna Westman Stipend, to be awarded to a woman studying at 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@. The memorial fund honors Westman as a "friend and helper of young women struggling, like herself, to obtain a college education."
Information on Anna Westman is very scarce; most of the information included here comes from Ann Boaden's article "The Vocation of the Mind: 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@'s First Three Women Graduates" (Part III), published in The Lutheran Journal.