Alice Reynolds facts for kids
Alice Louise Reynolds (born April 1, 1873 – died December 5, 1938) was a very important teacher. She became the first woman professor at Brigham Young University (BYU). BYU magazine even named her one of the 10 best BYU professors of the 1900s! She was also only the second woman in all of Utah to become a full professor.
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Early Life and School
Alice was born in Salt Lake City, which was then called Utah Territory, in the United States. Her parents were George Reynolds and Mary Ann Tuddenham. Her father worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When Alice was six, her father faced legal issues related to his family life. Her aunt, Julia Reynolds, helped take care of Alice. Alice loved to read and spend time with adults. When she was 12, her mother passed away.
Alice's father sent her and her younger sister, Florence, to Brigham Young Academy (BYA) for high school. Alice was greatly inspired by her teacher, Karl G. Maeser. She finished school at BYA in 1890.
Becoming a Professor
After teaching for two years, the president of BYA, Benjamin Cluff, asked Alice to start a literature department. To prepare, Reynolds went to the University of Michigan to study literature from 1892 to 1894. When she returned, she became a full-time teacher at BYA.
Later in her life, Alice continued her education at other famous universities. These included the University of Chicago, Cornell, Berkeley, and Columbia. She also traveled to Europe four times to learn more.
Her Career at BYU
Teaching English
Alice Reynolds was an English Professor for 44 years. She was the first woman to become a full professor at BYU. She taught about 5,000 students in 20 different English classes.
Students at BYU often talked about how Alice could be a bit forgetful. They said she once walked through a group of cows while reading a book! Another time, she supposedly brought a teakettle to work instead of her purse.
Reynolds also worked as an editor for the Relief Society Magazine from 1923 to 1930. She wrote for other magazines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints too. For seven years, she served on the General Board of the Relief Society.
Helping the Library Grow
While working at BYA, Alice Reynolds became the leader of a group that helped build the school's library. She led this group for 19 years!
She organized a big event to get 1,200 books for the library. Throughout her life, she led many other efforts to help the library grow. Thanks to her hard work and the club's efforts, the BYU library eventually had 100,000 books. Over 10,000 books were donated to the library because of her club.
