The First Full Professor
In 1973, Matilda White Riley (1911-2004) became the first woman appointed full professor at Bowdoin. She was a sociology professor and the chair of the sociology department until 1981. While at Bowdoin, Riley was instrumental in the establishment of the then joint Sociology and Anthropology department. A pioneer in the sociology of age, Riley worked and published extensively in research methodology, communications research, socialization and intergenerational relationships, and the sociology of age and the life course. Among her many awards and distinctions, she held honorary degrees from Bowdoin, Rutgers, Radcliffe, and the State University of New York at Albany. In 1996, the Sociology-Anthropology department building was named the Matilda White Riley House in her honor. The College also honors her legacy with the Matilda White Riley Student Paper Award, the Matilda White Riley Independent Studies Award, and the Matilda White Riley Prize in Sociology.
Matilda White Riley’s Sociology Seminar, photograph, November 6, 1974