Abby Leach

Who was Abby Leach?

Abby Leach was a Professor of Greek and Latin at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York from 1883 until her death.

She was one of the first female students at Harvard University, enrolling in a "Plan for Private Collegiate Instruction of Women" upon its establishment in 1879 at her behest. The "Plan" led to the later establishment of Radcliffe College. Because Harvard at that time did not grant degrees to women, Vassar College granted her Bachelors and Masters degrees after they appointed her to the Vassar faculty.

She was a member of the Greek Conference of the Committee of Ten called by the National Education Association in 1894, the only female member of any conference of the Committee of Ten.

In 1899, she became the first female president of the American Philological Association. From 1899-1901, Leach was president of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae which later became the American Association of University Women.