On May 8, 1814, Emma Hart Willard opened the doors to the school that now bears her name under the bold belief that girls deserved the same quality education afforded their brothers. Emma Willard School celebrated their Bicentennial last weekend with more than 1,400 guests on their Troy campus.
Emma Hart Willard was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame last year for her efforts in the support of women’s education. Today, her school has approximately 8,000 living alumnae around the globe including NY Senator Kirstin Gillibrand and Academy Award winner Jane Fonda. The school also counts among its graduates, women’s right advocate and former Emma Hart Willard pupil, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Here to tell us more about the school’s history and future are Trudy Hall - the 16th head of Emma Willard School and president of the board of trustees of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools and Trudy Hanmer - the Associate Head Emerita at Emma Willard School. She is also a history instructor, college counselor, and author of the recently released Wrought with Steadfast Will: A History of Emma Willard School.