Elizabeth Blodgett Hall (November 16, 1909 - July 18, 2005) was an administrator of both secondary and college level institutions. She was a pioneer and innovator of the 'early college' model of post-secondary education.

Early life

Hall was born on November 16, 1909, in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

as the only child of Thomas Harper Blodgett and Margaret Carroll Kendrick. As a young girl she attended the

Ethical Culture School Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), also referred to as Fieldston, is a private independent school in New York City. The school is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. The school serves approximately 1,700 students with 480 facul ...

, before her family moved to the

Berkshire Hills The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

of western Massachusetts.Concordacademy.org
, Retrieved September 22, 2013 Hall was raised in Great Barrington, and in 1928 she graduated from

Miss Hall's School Miss Hall's School, located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is a selective independent school for girls in grades 9–12. Founded in 1898 by Mira Hinsdale Hall, a graduate of Smith College, it was one of the first girls' boarding schools establish ...

in nearby

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

. In 1928, Hall attended her father's alma mater, Knox College, for one year. While raising her four children and commuting from the suburbs, she became one of the first older adults to study at

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, where she graduated in 1946.

Career

From 1949 to 1963 she was headmistress for

Concord Academy Concord Academy (also known as CA), established in 1922, is a coeducational, independent college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9-12. The school is situated in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1971, Concord Academy became t ...

, an independent college preparatory school in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...

. During her time there, Mrs. Hall was responsible for developing Concord Academy into a demanding college preparatory school. In 1964 on the grounds of her family's Great Pine Farm, Hall founded

Simon's Rock Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a private residential liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is a unit of Bard College, which is located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The school is ...

with financial support from a family foundation established by her mother. The school was designed as an early college, accepting students coming from their sophomore or junior years of high school and usually before receiving high school diplomas. The first class at Simon's Rock entered in 1966. Hall served as the school's president from 1964 to 1972. In 1979 Simon's Rock became affiliated with

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

. Hall served on the Simon's Rock Board of Overseers and the Board of Trustees of Bard College. In 1996 she was named an emerita member of both boards.

Personal life

On September 13, 1930, Hall married Livingston Hall at St. James Episcopal Church in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...

. They had four children. Hall died July 18, 2005, at the age of 95 in

Canaan, Connecticut Canaan is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,080 at the 2020 census, down from 1,234 at the 2010 census. The town of Canaan is often referred to locally by the name of its principal settlement, Falls V ...

Legacy

Hall earned a reputation as a capable educational administrator and pioneer who was able to successfully translate her vision into an innovative and sustainable institution. In recognition for her leadership at Concord Academy and Simon's Rock, Hall received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Miss Hall's School ''for the leadership to guide a fledgling girls' school from obscurity to national prominence, for the vision to create a new and almost totally original institution, for the dedication, perseverance, and philanthropic commitment to turn that dream into a reality, and for her devotion to the betterment of young people''.misshalls.org
Retrieved September 27, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Elizabeth Blodgett American women academics Founders of schools in the United States University and college founders 1909 births 2005 deaths . Heads of American boarding schools Radcliffe College alumni People from New York City People from Great Barrington, Massachusetts 20th-century American educators American headmistresses 20th-century American women educators 20th-century philanthropists 21st-century American women