Mavis L. Holmes served the university for 38 years. She was Associate Dean and then Dean of Students from 1958 until she retired in 1972. Born in 1904 in Neenah, Wisconsin, she received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University. She began her teaching career as a high school history and math instructor in 1925. At Franklin College in Indiana, she taught history from 1935 until 1938, and then became Dean of Women in 1938. She was Dean of Women and history instructor at Cornell College from 1943 until 1948. At Southeast Missouri State College, she was the Dean of Women as well as history instructor for ten years before coming to UNI. One of her greatest achievements was her work on the development of the Towers and Redeker housing projects. She was an active volunteer after her retirement and was involved in many organizations. She died in 1990.
Compiled by Susan Witthoft; edited by Gerald L. Peterson Special Collections and University Archives January 1996