Helen Constance White (1896–1967)

Helen Constance White was born in New Haven, Connecticut to a deeply religious Roman Catholic family and was raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended Girls' High School in Roxbury, where she excelled, and graduated summa cum laude from Radcliffe College in 1916. After completing her master's degree a year later, she taught at Smith College for two years before going to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for her doctorate. She loved Madison and joined the faculty at UW after completing her Ph.D. in 1924 with a dissertation on William Blake.
She taught many different courses, including freshman English and metaphysical poetry graduate seminars. In 1936, she became a full professor in Letters and Science -- the first woman to do so -- and twice served as chair of the English Department. She also was the first woman elected president of the American Association of University Professors. She also was president of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the University of Wisconsin Teachers' Union. Her scholarly works, including The Mysticism of William Blake (1927) and The Metaphysical Poets (1936), continue to be read as classics in the field. White also wrote six novels and numerous other nonfiction books and articles.
Over the course of
her 48-year career, White received numerous awards, including honorary doctorates, a Laetare Medal, a Siena Medal, an AAUW achievement award, and two Guggenheim Fellowships. She served as a USA delegate at two UNESCO events and was on the boards of several organizations. After her death, UW named the building that houses the English Department and undergraduate library Helen C. White Hall in her honor. The library contains 4,000 books donated from White's collection.