Melva Lind (16 March 1903 – 18 April 1997) graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1923 and a Master of Arts degree in 1943. She then received the French equivalent to a Master of Arts degree from the

Université de Lyon The University of Lyon ( , or UdL) is a university system ( ''ComUE'') based in Lyon, France. It comprises 12 members and 9 associated institutions. The 3 main constituent universities in this center are: Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, which f ...

Lyon, France Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in 1926. She went on to attend the

Université de Paris The University of Paris (), known metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated with the cat ...

en Sorbonne in Paris, where she earned her Doctorate in 1929. After which she attended

MacPhail School of Music The MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based music education centers. Located in the Mill District of Downtown East, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the school has over 16,000 students, providing instruction ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota where she earned a Master of Music in 1937. Over the years she continued her education with two diplomas from the Université de Clermont-Ferrand in France in 1923 and 1924 and a scholarship from the Conservatoire de Musique in Lyon, France in 1924–1925. She also studied around the world at the Universidad de Mexico in Mexico City in 1942, a study seminar in Germany during the summer of 1964, Greece in March 1973, Israel in July 1973, and the Institut de Langue et de Littérature Françaises at the Université de Rennes in France during the summers of 1970–1972.

Professional career

Melva Lind - DPLA - d1919878c05bb7f2018cf724c6988dc8

Lind began teaching French as an assistant professor at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

in Massachusetts from 1929 to 1936. Next, at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

in Massachusetts she was an assistant professor of French from 1936 to 1948, and was also the resident director of the French Language House from 1943 to 1948. Lind then became the Associate in Higher Education for the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

in Washington, D.C. from 1948 to 1950. She went back to teaching as French professor and dean of students at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

in Oxford, Ohio from 1950 to 1953, after which she came to

Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavu ...

. While at Gustavus, she was a French professor from 1953 to 1973, dean of students from 1953 to 1965, and Director of International Education from 1973 to 1979. As Director of International Education she increased exchange programs between both

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In 1975 she was nominated as a candidate for Gustavus President and served on the Board of Trustees from 1975 to 1981. She was also a great friend to the Linnaeus Arboretum. The Melva Lind Rose Garden and the Melva Lind Interpretive Center are both named in her honor.

Published books

*''L'âme Indienne: Chippewa et Sioux du Haut-Mississippi d'après les Manuscrits de Joseph-Nicolas Nicollet (1786–1843)''. (Périgueux, France: P. Fanlac), 1979. *''Modern Language Learning: the Intensive Course''. Journal Press, 1947. *''Emmanuel des Essarts; un parnassien universitaire''. (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France), 1928.

Accolades

Over the years Lind received many accolades. These include decorations as a knight by the Swedish Royal Order of the North Star and the French

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

. She also received the King's Gold Medal from Sweden, the Silver Medal from France, and was named an honorary princess of the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation () is a federally recognized Indigenous nation with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma, in the United States. The Chickasaw Nation descends from an Indigenous population historically located in the southeastern United States, in ...

of Oklahoma. She was further honored with a Greater Gustavus Award and an Outstanding Achievement Award from the

. Lind also published a few books along with many articles.

References

External links

College and Lutheran Church Archives, Gustavus Adolphus College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lind, Melva University of Minnesota alumni 1903 births 1997 deaths Recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Smith College faculty Mount Holyoke College faculty Miami University faculty Gustavus Adolphus College faculty American Association of University Women