Archival ResourcesForman, Elizabeth
Papers, 1823-1961
Biography/Background:
Mary
Elizabeth Forman was born in Gadsden, Alabama, in 1915 to James R. Forman and
Mary Dortch
Forman.
The family
moved to Birmingham, and Elizabeth was educated in the city's public schools.
She attended
Agnes Scott College (1932-1936) where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She
received her M.A. in
mathematics from the University of Alabama in 1940. In the fall of that year she
enrolled in Teachers College,
Columbia University, and earned an M.A. in personnel and guidance. She completed
the requirements for a
doctorate with the exception of the dissertation.
Forman
briefly taught at the University of Alabama and at Florida State College for
Women before
joining the faculty at Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham in
1944 as an associate professor
in the College of Education and Psychology. She remained at Samford until her
death in 1977.
Forman's
career was characterized by service to the college, community, and her church.
She sat on the
Mountain Brook Board of Education and on several other school boards; she was a
teacher and deacon at the
South Highland Presbyterian Church; and she was a member of the Alabama
Education Association and the
National Education Association. In 1977 the Mary Elizabeth Forman Memorial
Scholarship Fund was
established at Samford University.
Scope and Content:
The
materials in this collection span the years 1823-1961. The bulk of the material
falls into the period of
Forman's education and career, namely 1932-1961.
Papers
pertaining specifically to family and friends are largely those of Elizabeth
Forman's father, James
R. Forman. They include personal, business, and legal correspondence, legal
documents, licenses, promissory
notes, tax receipts, and an insurance policy.
Other
materials relating to family and friends include photographs; church bulletins;
family military records
dating as far back as the Civil War; pamphlets and material pertaining to Mary
Forman's social activities;
newspaper clippings; and an autograph book.
The files
relating to Forman's formal education contain correspondence (primarily from her
mother),
information on her 25th class reunion at Agnes Scott, church
bulletins, photographs, commencement programs, report cards, and New York City
playbills and brochures.
Forman's teaching career is documented by correspondence, financial reports,
pamphlets, bulletins, notes, and newspaper clippings. Her personal life and
travels in the United States and abroad are reflected in photographs, postcards,
and correspondence.
The collection also contains material relating to the American Association of
University Women.
Guide to Collection:
File level
guide available in the Archives Department.
Subject Areas:
American
Association of University Women.
Education --
Alabama -- Birmingham.
Forman, Mary
Elizabeth, 1915 -1977.
Howard
College (Birmingham, Ala.).
Samford
University (Birmingham, Ala.).
Travel.
Universities
and colleges -- Alabama -- Birmingham.
Women --
Alabama -- Birmingham.
Collection Number: 58
Size: 3 linear feet (3 boxes)
Restrictions: Standard preservation and copyright restrictions.
RA/7-10-01
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