Florence Thompson Snodgrass graduated from UNB in 1924 with a BA (Honours in Economics and Philosophy) and the Governor General's Gold Medal for outstanding academic attainment. She entered university in 1920 as one of the original four recipients of the Beaverbrook Entrance Scholarship, and was the first female Beaverbrook Scholar. During her time at UNB, Dr. Snodgrass developed an interest in psychology and studied the subject under Dr. W.C. Keirstead. She continued her education at Harvard, receiving an MA in 1927 and after teaching at Washington College in Maryland, USA and Wheaton College in Massachusetts, USA for 20 years, earned her PhD from Yale in 1947.
Dr. Snodgrass returned to her alma mater in 1950 to begin her career as Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology and Sociology, one of the first women to chair a department at UNB. She remained at the helm for 17 years, during which time the Department of Psychology became an independent academic unit. She also spearheaded the plans that led to the construction of Keirstead Hall, which became the new home for the Psychology Department in 1968. Dr. Snodgrass was honoured for her service to UNB whens she was named Professor Emerita in 1974, the first woman to receive this distinction. Several prizes and scholarships at both the undergraduate and graduate level have been founded in her name. In 1987 the Dr. Florence Snodgrass Graduating Prize in Psychology was established to mark the 20th anniversary of her retirement; the prize is awarded annually to the author of the best Psychology honours thesis. In 1991 a newly-renovated lounge in Keirstead Hall was named in her honour. Florence Snodgrass died at the age of 94 in February 1997.
Source(s):
- UA Case 77; Section 2, Box 4.