Caroline Pardee was a significant part of The University of Akron for several decades. She was one of the first women to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in secretarial science. She was the secretary to the president of the university for over 30 years. During that time, she created three different scholarship funds to benefit students.
The reason I am focusing on her and her legacy is because she has not received the praise and appreciation that she deserves. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree from UA in Secretarial Science, a major that is no longer offered at the university, led to her long and prosperous career.
As I was researching her career, I came across an entry in George Knepper’s book on UA’s history, New Lamps for Old. This entry reads ”A key figure in making the university machinery function is the secretary to the president. Since 1951, Miss Caroline Pardee, class of ’32, has provided unusually dedicated and skilled service in this role” (364).
With all her accomplishments and loyal years of service you would think Caroline Pardee would have earned more recognition than these two simple sentences. Another surprising thing I noticed was how difficult it was to find specific details about Pardee’s career and achievements, or even to find photographs of her. Because she was such an influential woman and part of The University of Akron, I found it only right to dedicate a part of my blog to her and all the good she has done and given to the university over the last 30 years.
What I have found about Pardee’s life appears on the Instagram account associated with this blog, UA Women Meet and Greet, @UAwomengrads. Caroline Pardee’s Papers (source of the image above) are currently being processed by The University of Akron Archival Services. My Instagram posts include the few available pictures and a link to the obituary marking her death last August.