Celebrate Women's History Month at the Adrian Public Library posted 3/17/09
Adrian College and the library present Elizabeth Crosby and Lee Anna Star: Exceptional Women at Adrian College

Adrian, Mich. - The Adrian Public Library, in cooperation with Adrian College, is pleased to present Elizabeth Crosby and Lee Anna Star: Exceptional Women at Adrian College on Thursday March 19 at 7 p.m. in the library meeting room.

This program will be presented by Stephanie Jass, an assistant professor of American History and the chair of the history department at Adrian College. Her research and teaching interests are gender, popular culture, and foodways. She has recently completed a pictorial history of Adrian College in honor of its sesquicentennial, which will be available in the fall.

Adrian College was a coeducational institution from its founding in 1859, and many exceptional women were associated with the college as students and faculty. In this presentation, we will be discussing two such fascinating women: Elizabeth Crosby, neuroscientist, and Lee Anna Starr, theologian, both of whom were associated with Adrian College in the early 1900s.

Elizabeth Caroline Crosby was the first woman to be appointed a full professor at the University of Michigan's medical school. She started her college education by majoring in mathematics at Adrian College where she completed the four-year program in three years, graduating in 1910.

Her descriptive studies helped lay the foundation for the science of comparative neuroanatomy. During a career spanning more than six decades, Crosby made important contributions to the male-dominated areas of science and medicine. Between 1920 and 1958 she taught neuroanatomy to an estimated 8,500 students and became known as the "angel of the medical school." Following her official retirement, Crosby continued her energetic pace, applying her comprehensive knowledge of the human brain to help neurosurgeons map brain surgery.

Lee Anna Starr was one of the first women pastors of the Methodist Protestant Church. She was ordained in 1895 and served at Adrian’s Plymouth Church and as an Adrian College educator. She was revered for her scholarship and is considered a champion of woman’s suffrage. Best known for her work on gender studies she authored “The Bible Status of Woman.”

More information may be obtained by contacting Carol Souchock, director at Adrian Public Library at 517-264-4877 or via e-mail at csouchock@ci.adrian.mi.us