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3/9/2011 - Join Us! Alabama Women's Hall of Fame 2011 induction
Judson Spotlight On...
Evelyn Anderson & Ruth Stovall to be inducted into AWHOF Two innovative women educators, Evelyn Daniel Anderson and Ada Ruth Stovall, will be inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame on March 10.
Anderson became a paraplegic at age four as the result of a spinal injury. She was never able to sit, stand or walk again and was confined to a gurney ("a rolling table"), but viewed her paraplegia only as a "physical inconvenience." She graduated with honors from Greensboro High School and with a double major (art and history) from Judson College.
Evelyn Anderson Anderson began teaching at Greensboro High School in 1948 as an "unofficial art teacher in a vacant classroom" because an Alabama law prohibited hiring handicapped teachers. She inspired a new law and became the first handicapped professional hired by the Alabama public schools in 1954. Anderson taught English and Spanish and served as guidance counselor at Greensboro High where she won numerous awards and honors including "Outstanding Educator" (1974), "Outstanding Counselor of the Year" (1975-76) and the "Alabama Handicapped Professional Woman of the Year" (1977). She was a master teacher for over 30 years, retiring in 1982 after teaching, officially and unofficially, in the Greensboro public schools for 34 years. In 1976, Alabama Educational Television (now APT) aired a short documentary film about her life as an educator and an inspiration for others. The "National Spinal Cord Injury Association" recognized her in 1993 as the oldest survivor of a spinal cord injury at that time.
Stovall was born in Green Pond, graduated from the Alabama College for Women (now the University of Montevallo) and taught vocational home economics in high schools in Butler, Reform and Opelika. At age 28 she was appointed District Supervisor of Home Economics over twelve Southwestern counties by the Alabama Department of Education. She later served as Assistant and then Associate Supervisor in Home Economics for the state.
In 1950, she became the State Supervisor of Vocational Home Economics in the State Department of Education and held that office for 22 years. At one time Stovall was supervising a field staff of seven assistants and 389 teachers. Very active in visiting high school classes, judging science fairs and speaking before local and national organizations, her impact on education led to national recognition. She served on the boards of "Future Homemakers of America" and "Forecast Magazine." She was listed in "Who's Who in American Education" and in 1954 was named "Woman of the Year" by "Progressive Farmer Magazine." By 1956 Stovall was a member of the national advisory board of "New Homemakers of America" and served on the board of "Seventeen Magazine" from 1957 to 1959. She was recognized by Alabama College of Women as its "Alumna of the Year" in 1958. Her professional influence nationally was evidenced by the award of "Honorary Life Membership" in the "American Vocational Association" in 1961. From 1958 to 1965, Stovall edited a series of eight books entitled "The Favorite Recipes of Alabama Vocational Home Economics Teachers." She also initiated a series of ten books titled "Favorite Recipes of America's Home Economics Teachers" that benefitted "Homemakers of America" chapters across the country. Stovall received many other awards related to cookbooks and the cookbook industry. Her appointment as Assistant Director of Vocational Education for the State of Alabama in 1972 was a first for women. Her responsibilities included career education, sex equity, special needs and work study for the disabled and disadvantaged, vocational certification, vocational guidance and counseling, professional development and accreditation of vocational programs. She was awarded the "Outstanding Service Award" by the American Vocational Association in 1976 and was a conference leader in more than thirty states. In 1982 Stovall was included as one of the nationwide ""Seventy Significant Leaders in Home Economics Education" and received the "Alabama Women of Leadership Award" in 1989. She was inducted as a charter member of the "Alabama Vocational Association Hall of Fame" in 1990 and the University of Montevallo awarded her its "Distinguished Home Economics Alumni Award" in 1991. According to the AWHOF guidelines, a nominee must have been born in Alabama or made special contributions to the state and have been deceased for two years. The AWHOF, founded in 1970, is housed in the A. Howard Bean Hall on the campus of Judson College in Marion. The induction ceremony will be at 10:30 a.m. in Alumnae Auditorium on the Judson campus. Additional information is available on the AWHOF website at www.awhf.org. *Article courtesy of the Judson College Public Relations Department.
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Evelyn Anderson (1926-1998) pioneered the rights of those with physical handicaps and inspired her native city of Greensboro to provide accommodations for the mobility disabled before being required by law to do so.
The second inductee, Ruth Stovall (1913-2008) was active in affecting legislation on the state and national level concerning vocational education and consumer / homemaking education.
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