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Death
of Alumna and Trustee Emerita, Eleanor "Elly" Elliott
'48
posted
12.05.06
Dear Members
of the Barnard Community:
It is
with tremendous sadness and a great sense of loss that I inform
you of the death of Barnard Alumna and Trustee Emerita, Eleanor
"Elly" Elliott '48. She passed away on Sunday as
a result of injuries she sustained in a car accident on Friday
in Westchester.
Elly was
a devoted member of our community -- indeed, of the Barnard
family -- from the day she entered as a first year student
in 1944. She graduated as a philosophy major nearly sixty
years ago. In 1959, she was the youngest member ever appointed
to the Barnard Board of Trustees. She served as Chair from
1973 to 1976, the second woman to be so elected, and was named
Trustee Emerita in 1978.
During
the 1970's, Elly was deeply involved with the fight to keep
Barnard an independent women's college -- a victory that she
was proud to have played a part in. Even through the most
turbulent times, she maintained a steadfast vision of a strong
liberal arts college dedicated to the advancement of women
and she never once lost sight of that goal.
In 1971,
Elly was one of the founders of the Barnard Center for Research
on Women, and she remained part of the heart and soul of the
Center for the rest of her life. In 1979, she was honored
with the Barnard Medal of Distinction. And in 1992, in recognition
of her service to the College throughout the years, the Barnard
residence hall at 49 Claremont Avenue was renamed Eleanor
Elliott Hall in her honor.
In 2003,
the College received a gift from Elly Elliott for the purpose
of establishing the Helen Pond McIntyre '48 Lecture Fund.
Helen McIntyre was Elly's classmate and longtime friend. When
Catharine Stimpson, former Barnard faculty member and Women's
Center founding member, gave the inaugural Helen Pond McIntyre
lecture in 2004, she opened with these words of gratitude
for Elly: "Any society without an Elly Elliott ought
to importune her for the chance to import her. Her integrity,
selflessness, energy, imagination, and generosity render all
that she touches better."
Elly Elliott
played an extremely active role in fundraising for the College
beginning when she was Chair of the Barnard Fund Alumnae Committee
in the 1950's. She was the Director of the Alumnae Association,
Chair of the Trustee Committee on Development, National Co-Chair
for the Campaign for Barnard, and gracious host of countless
events for the purpose of raising money for and interest in
the College.
Outside
of her deep and lasting commitment to Barnard, Elly Elliott
was a woman of many and varied accomplishments. She was a
private secretary to the Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles.
Over the years she was actively involved in many distinguished
organizations such as the National Organization for Women,
The Foundation for Child Development, The Woodrow Wilson National
Fellowship Program, and the New York Hospital, to name a few.
In 1982, she was appointed by President Reagan to the National
Advisory Council on Women's Education Programs. Her early
career was as writer and editor for Vogue and Glamour
magazines.
Her beloved
husband of fifty years, John "Jock" T. Elliott,
died just last year. In spite of this life-changing loss,
she continued to pursue the passions that had been so important
to them both. Elly Elliott was, quite simply, an ideal embodiment
of what we call the Barnard woman: courageous, independent,
hard-working, and deep-thinking. She will be greatly missed
by all who knew and loved her.
Judith Shapiro
President
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