Irma Voigt

Irma Elizabeth Voigt (September 1, 1882 – May 9, 1953) was an American educator. She was the first Dean of Women at Ohio University; she held that office from 1913 until her retirement in 1949.

Irma E. Voigt
A white woman with dark hair, wearing a dark dress and a strand of beads or pearls
Irma Voigt, from the 1926 yearbook of Ohio University
BornSeptember 1, 1882
Quincy, Illinois
DiedMay 9, 1953
Athens, Ohio
Occupation(s)Dean of Women, Ohio University

Early life

Voigt was born in Quincy, Illinois, the daughter of Henry G. Voigt and Mary Tuffli Voigt. In 1913 she earned a PhD in German at the University of Illinois; her master's thesis and doctoral dissertation were both about German-American writer Therese Albertine Luise Robinson, also known as "Frau Talvj".[1]

Career

Voigt taught school and was a high school principal in Illinois as a young woman. She was the first Dean of Women at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, holding that title from 1913 to 1949.[2][3] She recalled that, upon arrival in 1913, the president of the university said to her, "I don't know what a dean of women's for, and I suspect you don't know what you're to do. Get busy and find out."[4]

As dean, Voigt held weekly fireside chat sessions in her home, and led Saturday hikes. She also wrote revues, ceremonies, and pageants for the university, and directed the productions. She was president of the Ohio state chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and served on the association's national board.[5][6] In 1922, she spoke to audiences of girls in Nashville about the "three B's" of a happy and successful life, which she listed as "be buoyant, be generous, be idealistic."[7] From 1924 to 1928 she was the first president of the Ohio Association of Deans of Women.[8] In 1936, she was president of the National Association of Deans of Women.[9] She served on the national board of the YWCA.[10][11]

Publications
  • The Life and Works of Mrs. Therese Robinson (1913)[1]
  • "Spiritualizing the Relations Between Men and Women Students" (1926)[12]
  • "National Association of Deans of Women" (1937)[13]
  • "The Report of the Future Policy Committee: The American Council of Guidance and Personnel Associations" (1939)[14]

Personal life

Voigt lived and traveled with the chair of the Ohio University English department, Edith Wray,[15][16] at a home nicknamed "the Irmatage", and was often seen on campus with a companion dog, Lady.[17] Voigt died in 1953, in Athens, at the age of 70.[18] There is a residence hall at Ohio University named Voigt Hall in her memory.[19][20] Ohio University Libraries holds Voigt's papers, and other materials related to her life and career.[17]

References
  1. Voigt, Irma Elizabeth (1913). The Life and Works of Mrs. Therese Robinson (Talvj). University of Illinois.
  2. "Dean Irma Voigt Traces Development of Higher Education for Women in Talk". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1933-09-13. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Miss Irma Voigt Addresses 150 at A.A.U.W. Dinner-Meeting". Quad-City Times. 1937-10-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Voigt, Irma (May 5, 1939). "Dean of Women Recounts Change, Progress of Ohio University over Quarter Century". Green and White. p. 4. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  5. "Akron Branch to Observe Birthday; Dean Irma Voigt to Speak at Anniversary Dinner". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1936-10-12. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "University Group to Present Dean Irma Voigt as Speaker". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1933-09-06. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Miss Irma Voigt's Addresses to Girls Proves Climax to Girls' Week Drive". The Tennessean. 1922-10-14. p. 20. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "MS 441 - Ohio Association for Women in Education". Bowling Green State University Libraries. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  9. "Ohio Deans of Women Hear National President at State Meeting That Closed Sunday". The Daily Sentinel-Tribune. 1936-04-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-10-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Price, Louise (1949). "Women in the News". Pi Lambda Theta Journal. 27 (4): 260. ISSN 2374-3093. JSTOR 42918332.
  11. "Highest of Life's Levels are Attainable in Y.W.C.A." News-Journal. 1926-01-26. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Voigt∗, Irma E. (1926). "Spiritualizing the Relations Between Men and Women Students". Religious Education. 21 (4): 383–390. doi:10.1080/0034408260210412.
  13. Voigt, Irma E. (May 1937). "National Association of Deans of Women". Occupations: The Vocational Guidance Journal. 15 (8): 752–754. doi:10.1002/j.2164-5892.1937.tb01001.x.
  14. Voigt, Irma E. (1939). "The Report of the Future Policy Committee". Occupations: The Vocational Guidance Journal. 17 (7): 631–636. doi:10.1002/j.2164-5892.1939.tb01904.x.
  15. "Visitors Honored at Dinner Party at Stanford". The Peninsula Times Tribune. 1935-07-12. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-10-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Dr. Edith Wray to be Speaker". Springfield News-Sun. 1952-09-17. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-10-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Finding aid for the Irma E. Voigt papers". OhioLINK Finding Aid Repository. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  18. "Dr. Irma Voigt Dies in Athens". The Times Recorder. 1953-05-11. p. 29. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "New Voigt Hall to Honor First OU Dean of Women". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. 1954-01-05. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Voigt Hall Residence Hall Profile". Ohio University. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
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