Mary Edmonds, the former vice provost for student affairs at Stanford University, died last month in Los Angeles. She was 85 years old.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Edmonds and her identical twin Ruth both enrolled at their mother’s alma mater, Spelman College in Atlanta. Mary Edmonds earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and was the Class of 1953 valedictorian.
Dr. Edmonds went on to earn a master’s degree in health studies and a Ph.D. in sociology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She conducted postdoctoral study at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
After practicing physical therapy in Cleveland, in 1972 Dr. Edmonds was named the founding director of the physical therapy program at Cleveland State University. In 1981, Dr. Edmonds was appointed dean of the College of Health and Community Services at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She was named vice provost for student affairs at Stanford in 1992 and served in that role until 2000.