Alice Louise Reynolds

Alice Louise Reynolds (April 1, 1873 – December 5, 1938)[1] was a Brigham Young University (BYU) professor. Reynolds furthered her studies out east, receiving a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. She taught college-level courses at Brigham Young Academy until it dissolved into BYU, and she was the first woman to do so.[1] She was the second woman in Utah to be named a full professor, and the first woman to be a full professor at BYU.[2]: 277  She worked to establish the library at Brigham Young Academy, and through her efforts, she was able to collect over 100,000 donated volumes. She worked as an editor for the Relief Society Magazine and contributed to other LDS Church-affiliated magazines. Reynolds was an outspoken Democrat and served on the party's committee and as a delegate to the party's national convention. Reynolds died in 1938 of cancer.

Alice Louise Reynolds
Personal details
Born(1873-04-01)April 1, 1873
Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States
DiedDecember 5, 1938(1938-12-05) (aged 65)
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Cause of deathcancer
Resting placeSalt Lake City Cemetery
40.777°N 111.858°W / 40.777; -111.858 (Salt Lake City Cemetery)
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Brigham Young Academy
Notable worksRelief Society Magazine editor
ParentsGeorge Reynolds
Mary A. T. Reynolds

Childhood and education

Reynolds was born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States, to George Reynolds and Mary Ann Tuddenham.[3] Her father, George Reynolds, was a Seventy in the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a longtime secretary to the First Presidency of the church, and manager of the Salt Lake Theater.[4][5] When Alice was six years old, George was incarcerated for two years because he practiced plural marriage.[6]

At the age of four she attended a private school taught by Izzie Calder, daughter of David O. Calder.[7]: 11  George's sister Julia Reynolds helped look after Alice during her childhood. Alice enjoyed reading and the company of other grownups.[7]: 9  At age 12, Alice's mother died in childbirth.[7]: 15  Her teacher at the Twentieth Ward school, T. B. Lewis, left to become the principal of Ogden High School.[7]: 12  The combination of these two events led George to send Alice and her younger sister Florence to the Brigham Young Academy (BYA) for high school, after short stints at Salt Lake Academy and Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah.[4][7]: 16  She was greatly motivated by the teachings of one of her instructors, Academy Principal Karl G. Maeser.[8] She graduated from BYA in 1890.[9]

After teaching for two years, the president of BYA, Benjamin Cluff, suggested that she establish a literature department at BYA after furthering her studies.[2]: 280  At age 17, she was financially independent, and took out loans to continue her studies in literature at the University of Michigan from 1892 to 1894. During that time, she closely associated with Richard R. Lyman and Joseph F. Merrill the later of whom was her branch president.[4][10] In 1894, she received the promised faculty appointment at BYA.[11]

She received a Bachelor of Pedagogy degree in 1895, [1] followed by a Bachelor of Didactics from the Church Board of Education in 1897 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from BYU in 1910.[1] She later pursued advanced study at Chicago, Cornell, Berkeley and Columbia,[2]: 280  and made four trips to Europe in 1906, 1910, 1924, and 1937.[7]: 38 

Career

Teaching
Alice Reynolds's faculty photo from 1914

Reynolds began her teaching career after graduating from BYA. She taught for a year at the Salt Lake 14th Ward Seminary and at Juab Stake Academy. She was 21 when she accepted a position at BYA.[9]

Reynolds was a Professor of English from 1894 to 1938.[8] She was the first woman at BYA to teach college-level classes. She taught literature there until 1903 when the school was replaced by Brigham Young High School and BYU. She became the first woman to be a full professor at BYU.[1] She taught approximately 5,000 students in 20 different English courses.[8] Reynolds was known for her absent-mindedness at BYU. According to her students, she once walked through a herd of cows while reading a book and brought a teakettle to work instead of her purse.[2]: 279 [12][13] Despite her reputation for absent-mindedness, Reynolds exuded confidence and self-respect.[2] : 279 

Reynolds was an editor for the Relief Society Magazine from 1923 to 1930. She also wrote for the Young Woman's Journal, the Improvement Era, and The Instructor.[7]: 48–49  Reynolds was also called to the General Board of the Relief Society of The LDS Church in 1923. She served for seven years.[1]

Contributions to library

At BYA, Reynolds served as a member of a faculty committee to establish the library. The committee formed in 1906, and Reynolds served as its chairperson for 19 years. Part of her work on the committee included a large fundraiser to obtain 1,200 books to add to the school's library. Over the course of her life, she organized several other campaigns to help the library grow to 100,000 volumes.[1][4] On February 19, 1933, the Alice Louise Reynolds Club was formally established with a written constitution and by-laws established by a central committee.[7]: 56  Through the efforts of the club, over 10,000 volumes were donated to the BYU library.[8]

Involvement in politics
Alice Louise Reynolds in 1920

In politics, Reynolds was an active Democrat, serving on the national party's committee and as a delegate to the party's national convention. She was a delegate to the General Federation of Women's Clubs, the National American Women Suffrage Conventions, and the League of Women Voters at the Pan American Convention.[1] At the General Federation of Women's Clubs, in response to accusations that The LDS Church dictated how members must vote, Reynolds stated that her religion did not interfere with her voting as a Democrat.[7]: 50  In 1920, as a delegate to the National Democratic Convention, she made a speech seconding the nomination for William Gibbs McAdoo for President.[7]: 53 

Reynolds died of cancer at the age of 65.[1]

Legacy

The auditorium in the Harold B. Lee Library is named after Reynolds.[14] In the mid-20th century several cities in Utah, including St. George, had women's literary clubs named after Reynolds.[15]

Starting in 1978, women in Provo revived the Alice Louise Reynolds club in the form of the Alice Louise Reynolds forum, which discussed issues related to Mormon feminism, including their support for the Equal Rights Amendment.[16] In 1984, they changed their name to the Algie Eggertsen Ballif forum.[16]: 56 

Publications

Articles
  • "Francis Marion Lyman". Relief Society Magazine. 4 (2): 65–67. February 1917.
  • "Admiral George Dewey and Homer Davenport". Relief Society Magazine. 4 (3): 147–148. March 1917.
  • "Two Favorite Hymns". Relief Society Magazine. 10 (3): 128–130. March 1923.
  • "Relief Society Conference Address". Relief Society Magazine. 10 (6): 293. June 1923.
  • "Relief Society Conference Address". Relief Society Magazine. 10 (6): 293. June 1923.
  • "The Book of Mormon Tested". Relief Society Magazine. 10 (9): 426–429. September 1923.
  • "The Canada Temple". Relief Society Magazine. 10 (10): 478–479. October 1923.
  • "Mrs. Harriet Perry Whiting". Relief Society Magazine. 10 (10): 497–499. October 1923.
  • "Unveiling of President Williams' Portrait". Relief Society Magazine. 11 (7): 329. July 1924.
  • "Mrs. Mabel Walker Willebrandt". Relief Society Magazine. 11 (10): 507–510. October 1924.
  • "George Bernard Shaw". Relief Society Magazine. 13 (1): 28–30. January 1926.
  • "Conference Address". Relief Society Magazine. 13 (7): 380–381. July 1926.
  • "Susan West Smith". Relief Society Magazine. 13 (12): 609–611. December 1926.
  • "Mrs. Kate Montgomery Barker". Relief Society Magazine. 16 (5): 239–241. May 1929.
  • "Our Gallery of Portraits". Relief Society Magazine. 17 (4): 195–197. April 1930.
  • "Tributes to Clarissa Smith Williams". Relief Society Magazine. 17 (5): 228–229. May 1930.
  • "Relief Society Conference: Organization and Development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day". Relief Society Magazine. 17 (6): 315–319. June 1930.
  • "Women in Modern Education". Relief Society Magazine. 17 (11): 611–612. November 1930.
  • "Dr. Joseph Francis Merrill". Relief Society Magazine. 18 (11): 603–605. November 1931.

The Editor Abroad

References
  1. "Alice Louise Reynolds". Brigham Young Academy High School Class of 1890. Brigham Young High School Alumni. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  2. Keele, Reba (1978). "Alice L. Reynolds". In Burgess-Olson, Vicky; Allen, James (eds.). Sister Saints. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press. ISBN 9780842512350.
  3. Jenson, Andrew (1936). Latter-day Saint biographical encyclopedia: A compilation of biographical sketches of prominent men and women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Vol. 4. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Andrew Jenson History Company (Printed by the Deseret News Press). p. 194. ISBN 9781172755158. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  4. Engar, Ann. "Biographical Sketch of Alice Louise Reynolds". documents.alexanderstreet.com. Alexander Street Documents.
  5. Jenson, Andrew (1941). Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, vol 1. Deseret News. p. 208.
  6. Hermann, John R. (2009). "Reynolds v. United States (1879)".
  7. Lyman, Amy Brown (1947). Lighter of Lamps: The Life Story of Alice Louise Reynolds. Salt Lake City, Utah: Alice Louise Reynolds Club; Deseret News Press. OCLC 5586589.
  8. McClellan, Jeff (1999). "A Lingering Influence: Top 10 BYU Professors of the 20th Century". BYU Magazine. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  9. Easton, Susan Black; Woodger, Mary Jane (2011). Women of Character: Profiles of 100 Prominent LDS Women. American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, Inc. pp. 246–249. ISBN 9781680470185.
  10. Griffiths, Casey Paul (2021). Truth Seeker: The Life of Joseph F. Merrill, Scientist, Educator and Apostle. Salt Lake City: BYU Religious Studies Center. p. 32.
  11. Clark, Rebekah (2020). "Alice Louise Reynolds, Advocate for women's opportunities".
  12. Young, Kristi. "Alice Louise Reynolds / Jeane Woolfenden". Provo, UT. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  13. Peterson, Ester Eggertsen. "Roots and Wings". BYU Studies: 11. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  14. "Hey Harold!: Who is Alice Louise Reynolds? - With Prof. Christopher Jones on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. BYU Library. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  15. [https://issuu.com/utah10/docs/uhq_volume70_2002_number1 Douglas D. Alder. Senator Orval hafen and the Transformation of Utah's Dixie, Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 70, no. 1 (2002), p. 86
  16. Bentley, Amy (1990). "Comforting the Motherless Children: The Alice Louise Reynolds forum" (PDF). Dialogue. 23 (Fall): 39–60. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
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