Marion Isabelle Whitney
BornApril 23, 1911
Austin, Texas
DiedSeptember 16, 1998
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Occupation(s)Geologist, college professor, writer

Marion Isabelle Whitney (April 23, 1911 – September 16, 1998) was an American geologist, college professor, and writer. She was the first woman to complete doctoral studies in geology at the University of Texas at Austin, in 1937.

Early life and education

Whitney was born and raised in Austin, Texas,[1] the daughter of Francis Luther Whitney and Grace Pellet Whitney. Her father was a paleontology professor. She earned a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1930, then stayed to complete a master's degree in 1931,[2] with a thesis titled "Fauna of the Glen Rose Formation".[3] In 1937, she became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. from the geology department at Texas.[4][5]

Career

Whitney was a schoolteacher in Texas in the 1930s.[6] She taught at Kansas State Teachers' College from 1937 to 1942, at Kilgore Junior College from 1942 to 1946,[7] at Texas Christian University from 1946 to 1951,[8] at Arkansas Polytechnic College from 1952, at Louisiana Tech University from 1955,[9][10] and at Central Michigan University from 1961 to her retirement in 1981.[2] She was head of the geology department at Arkansas Polytechnic College in the 1950s.[8] She gained full professor status in 1971.

Publications

In addition to her academic publications, Whitney wrote a novel for young readers, Juan of Parícutin (1953), based on her travels to see the volcano Parícutin in Michoacán, Mexico.[8] She wrote a second children's book about an opossum she raised.[6]

  • "Some Zone Marker Fossils of the Glen Rose Formation of Central Texas" (1952)[11]
  • "Some New Pelecypoda from the Glen Rose Formation of Texas" (1952)[12]
  • Juan of Parícutin (1953)[13]
  • "Echinoids of the Glen Rose Limestone of Texas" (1966, with Lewis Burnett Kellum)[14]

Personal life

Whitney died in 1998, at the age of 87, in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. There is a collection of her papers in the library at Central Michigan University.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Far Off Texas Adds to Fund". Star-Gazette. 1916-04-08. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 American Men of Science: A Biographical Directory. Bowker. 1949. p. 2695.
  3. ↑ Whitney, M. I. (1931). Fauna of the Glen Rose formation (Master's thesis, University of Texas at Austin).
  4. ↑ Kortsha, Monica. "Women in UT Geology" Texas Geosciences (November 20, 2017).
  5. ↑ Milliken, Kitty L.; Eustice, Rachel A. (1995-05-01). "Historical Data on Graduate-Level Participation of Women in a Large Geoscience Department". Journal of Geological Education. 43 (3): 221–226. Bibcode:1995JGeoE..43..221M. doi:10.5408/0022-1368-43.3.221. ISSN 0022-1368.
  6. 1 2 Galvin, Lois Hale (1953-07-07). "With Volcano, Author also 'Born'". The Austin American. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Garden Club Members Give Supper for Husbands; Miss M. Whitney Gives Illustrated Talk on Mexico". The Kilgore News Herald. 1945-02-25. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 "Author of Book on Volcano Arrives Here to Visit Friends; Dr. Marion Isabelle Whitney". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 1953-06-07. p. 33. Retrieved 2023-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "37 New Staff Members Employed at La. Tech". The Times. 1955-09-02. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Unusual Geological Specimens at Tech". The Monroe News-Star. 1957-01-18. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Whitney, Marion Isabelle (1952). "Some Zone Marker Fossils of the Glen Rose Formation of Central Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 26 (1): 65–73. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 1299772.
  12. ↑ Whitney, Marion (1952). "Some New Pelecypoda from the Glen Rose Formation of Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 26 (5): 697–707. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 1299869.
  13. ↑ Whitney, Marion Isabelle (1953). Juan of Parícutin. Internet Archive. Austin, Tex., Steck Co.
  14. ↑ Whitney, Marion Isabelle; Kellum, Lewis B. (1965). "Echinoids of the Glen Rose Limestone of Texas". Central Michigan University Scholarly & Creative Works. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  15. ↑ "Marion Isabelle Whitney Papers, 1952, 1999, and undated". - Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library, University of Michigan Finding Aids. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
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