Samuel Zemurray, Jr. and Doris Zemurray Stone-Radcliffe Professor
The Samuel Zemurray, Jr. and Doris Zemurray Stone-Radcliffe Professor is the first endowed chair at Harvard University created specifically to be filled by a woman.
History
In 1947, Samuel Zemurray, an American businessman, gave Harvard University $225,000 to $250,000 to establish an endowed professorship for “a distinguished woman scholar” to be selected by a University committee. Zemurray gave the money to Harvard in honor of Zemurray’s children, Samuel Zemurray, Jr. and Doris Zemurray Stone.[1]
Samuel Zemurray, Jr., was a graduate of the Harvard Business School who was killed in World War II. Doris Zemurray Stone was a graduate of Radcliffe. This professorship was one of many endowed professorships the Zemurray Foundation provided for universities across the United States.
Rather than establishing the professorship in a specific field of academic study, Zemurray chose to honor of his daughter by designating the professorship for a female candidate of academic renown. This allowed the Samuel Zemurray, Jr. and Doris Zemurray Stone-Radcliffe Professor to work across disciplines, much like Harvard’s University Professors.
List of professors
- Helen Maud Cam, 1947–1954, professor of English constitutional history
- Cora du Bois, 1954–1968, professor of anthropology[2]
- Emily Vermeule, 1970–1994, professor of archaeology[3]
- Katharine Park, 1997–present, professor of the history of science[4]
- Amanda Claybaugh, 2010–present, professor of English
References
- Gift of $250,00 Provides Woman Faculty Member, Harvard Crimson, 5 March 1947; the Harvard Crimson reported $250,000, but the Directory of Named Chairs (Harvard University Press) states that it was $225,000 (580).
- Du Bois Vacates Zemurray Chair, Harvard Crimson, 20 November 1968
- Honan, William H. (February 23, 2001). "Emily Vermeule, 72, a Scholar Of Bronze Age Archaeology". New York Times.
- Women’s Studies Receives Second Tenured Professor, Harvard Crimson, 10 April 1997