In Memoriam: Mary Elizabeth Peters Tidball, 1929-2014

M. Elizabeth Tidball, a long-time professor of physiology at George Washington University, died as a result of pancreatic cancer earlier this month at a retirement community in Adamstown, Maryland. She was 84 years old.

Professor Tidball joined the faculty at George Washington University in 1960 and came to national attention in 1973 when she published an article in the journal Educational Record which showed a large percentage of successful women professionals were graduates of women’s colleges. As a result, Dr. Tidball, who was a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, a leading liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts, became a leading advocate for women’s colleges. She was the co-author of Taking Women Seriously: Lessons And Legacies For Educating The Majority (Praeger, 1998).

Dr. Tidwall retired from teaching at George Washington University in 1994 and was named professor emerita. She served on the board of trustees at Hood College, Salem College, Skidmore College, Sweet Briar College, and Mount Holyoke College.

Professor Tidwell earned a master’s degree in theological studies from the Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington and a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.