Ross, Ella V. (Ella Virginia), 1902-1991
Biography
Ella Virginia Ross was born in Buffalo, New York in 1902 and moved with her family to Johnson City in 1911. Miss Ross graduated from Science Hill High School, earned a Bachelor of Science degree from East Tennessee State College (ETSC), a Master of Arts from Duke University, and a Master of Education degree from Harvard University. She also completed the residence requirements for a Doctor of Education degree from Harvard. Before joining the faculty at ETSC, she taught in the Johnson City public schools and was principal of West Side School and Henry Johnson School. At ETSC, she was a professor of English, first woman chair of the department, Dean of Women, director of student personnel services, and eventually Dean of Students. She retired in 1972 and was later that year appointed to the Tennessee Board of Regents, which governed all state colleges and universities not part of the University of Tennessee system.
She was very involved in civic, educational, and political affairs throughout her life. She served as president of the Little Theatre of Johnson City, chairman of the East Tennessee Educational Association, a member of Pi Lambda Theta, Kappa Delta Pi, Pi Kappa Delta, the American Association of University Women, the Johnson City Business and Professional Women’s Club (charter member and president), and served as a director of the Johnson City Foundry and Machine Works, Inc., and the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce. She was an active member of Central Baptist Church. In 1948, she was selected as the “First Lady” of Johnson City, the first person to receive this award. In 1953, she was elected as a delegate to the Tennessee state constitutional convention, where she played an important part in rewriting the state’s antiquated 1870 constitution for the modern era. She was elected a county commissioner for Washington County and was active in county politics and government in the 1960s and 1970s.
Ella V. Ross died June 14, 1991.
Found in 6 Collections and/or Records:
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Records
The records are divided into four series: Series 1, General Office Files; Series 2, Chairmen's Council Minutes; Series 3, Professional Load Reports; and Series 4, Graduate Assistant Files. In Series 1 the files for the 1972-1973 academic year are missing, and in Series 3 reports for 1971-1972 are missing.
Ella V. Ross and May Ross McDowell Papers
The collection is organized into three subgroups, as follows: Subgroup 1: Ella V. Ross Papers, 1920-1990 and undated; Subgroup 2: May Ross McDowell Papers, 1915-1988 and undated; and Subgroup 3: Audio-Visual Materials, c. 1910-1987 and undated.
Miscellaneous University Records
Office of Student Affairs Records
University School Records
The records are organized into two series: Series 1, Administrative Files, 1947-1952 and Series 2, Parent-Teacher Association Records, 1955-1993 and undated.
Watauga Personnel and Guidance Association Records
The Watauga Personnel and Guidance Association Collection consists of the business and organizational records of the WPGA and the UETPGA, together with documents produced by the state organization, the Tennessee Personnel and Guidance Association, and the national organization, the American Personnel and Guidance Association. Also included in the collection are materials produced by other guidance and personnel associations.
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- Subject
- Corporation records 4
- Photographs 3
- Personal papers 2
- Publications (document genre) 2
- Appalachian Region, Southern -- Study and teaching 1
- Blueprints (reprographic copies) 1
- College students--Societies 1
- College teachers -- Tenure 1
- College teachers -- Workload 1
- Correspondence 1
- East Tennessee State University -- History 1
- Greek letter societies 1
- Guaranda (Ecuador) 1
- Guidance, counseling, and student personnel in education 1
- Johnson City (Tenn.) -- History 1
- Johnson City (Tenn.)--Politics and government 1
- Ledgers (account books) 1
- Minutes (administrative records) 1
- National Education Week 1
- Newsletters 1 + ∧ less
- Archives of Appalachia
- PO Box 70295 | 344 J L Seehorn Rd.
- Johnson City, TN 37614
- archives@etsu.edu
- Phone: 423-439-4338 | Fax: 423-439-4126
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