Jo Ann Boydston
From Philosopedia
Jo Ann Boydston (1924 - 25 January 2011)
Boydston, who grew up in Poteau, Oklahoma., was a member of the Choctaw Indian tribe.
At the age of 17 she entered Oklahoma State University, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in foreign languages degree in 1944. She earned a Master of Arts from Oklahoma State University in 1947 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1950. In 1994, she received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Indiana University.
Before joining the Southern Illinois University (SUI) facultY, Dr. Boydston taught Spanish and French at Poteau High School and Junior College from 1944-1945; was a teaching fellow at Oklahoma State University from 1946-47; a lecturer in Spanish at Columbia University from 1947-49; an assistant professor of Spanish and later associate professor and supervisor of student teachers at University of Mississippi from 1952-1955.
Boydston came to SIU in 1955 as assistant director of teacher training. In 1961, she became associate director of what was then known as the Cooperative Research on Dewey Publications and in 1966 became director of the Dewey Center.
An expert on John Dewey, she served for almost three decades as director of the Center for Dewey Studies and has edited and authored nearly 50 books and scores of articles on related topics. She earned the rank of distinguished professor, the first woman to be so honored at SIU.
She is best known as the general editor of the monumental 37-volume edition of The Collected Works of John Dewey, a work that stands as a model for scholarly excellence in multivolume editing.
She and her husband, Don Boydston, made significant contributions to the advancement of Southern Illinois University, including, but not limited to, an endowed chair in the Philosophy Department and scholarships in Intercollegiate Athletics, culminating in the dedication of the Boydston Center on the SIUC campus in October 2010.
After moving to Naples, Florida, Dr. Boydston continued her efforts to help improve the lives of those around her and to promote the advancement of women. She was active in the American Association of University Women and the Women's Network for Change.
Boydston, a lifetime member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, died in Naples, Florida. She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years in March 2005.
