| LUCIA RUSSELL BRIGGS, the daughter of the President of Radcliffe College and former Harvard Dean, developed Milwaukee-Downer from a regional college into one with a national, even global, perspective and deepened the curriculum in the liberal arts. Being granted a chapter by the Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1941 was not the greatest achievement of the Briggs Presidency, but was a symbol of it. Building the two largest buildings on the campus was not the greatest achievement, but was a sign of it. The programming and scholarship that took place inside the buildings were the great achievements. The buildings included the most beautiful on the campus, the Alice Chapman Library, with its exotic teakwood room and art gallery, and the largest and strongest building, the Sabin Hall of Science. Both symbolized the arts and sciences flourishing during the Briggs era. Meanwhile, special programs in Occupational Therapy, Home Economics, and Physical Education, firmly grounded in liberal arts, became models for new professions throughout the country. |
|