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Julia Anna Norris
A white woman in an oval frame; she is wearing a simple white shirt with a long pointed collar, and a string of white beads or pearls
J. Anna Norris, from a 1919 publication
BornNovember 29, 1874
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedSeptember 18, 1958
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Other namesJ. Anna Norris
Occupation(s)Physician, college professor
Known forTaught physical education at the University of Minnesota from 1912 to 1941

Julia Anna Norris (November 29, 1874 – September 18, 1958), often known as J. Anna Norris, was an American physician and college professor, based in Minneapolis.

Early life and education

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Julia Anna Norris was born in Boston, the daughter of Edward L. Norris and Sarah E. Hoyt Norris. She studied physical education at the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics, and completed a medical degree at Northwestern University in 1900.[1][2]

Career

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From 1900 to 1911, Norris taught physical education at Cortland Normal School, where she introduced women's basketball to campus.[3] While teaching at the University of Chicago, she also served as "assistant school physician",[4] and published a series of academic articles on physical education, titled "A Graded Course in Schoolroom Gymnastics" (1911).[5]

In 1912 she joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota,[6] where she taught physical education and was director of Physical Education for Women until she retired in 1941.[7][8] Under her tenure, the physical education department added a pool, two gymnasiums, and classroom space, and launched a teacher training program.[9][10] She worked for the establishment of the college's student health service, and women's sports.[1][11] "The gymnasium and its apparatus is all very well while it lasts," she told a newspaper in 1912, "but I want the girls to wake up to the possibilities of fun and exercise that can go on after they leave college."[6]

Beyond the university, Norris wrote a pamphlet, "Physical Education as a Profession" (1923), for the Woman's Occupational Bureau.[12] She also wrote the introduction for a textbook, Leonora Anderson's An Athletic Program for Elementary Schools, Arranged According to Seasons (1927).[13] In 1921, Norris debunked a published claim that "athletic girls made the worst mothers", pointing out that there was no evidence to support the claim and citing the physical activity of pioneer women in the US.[14]

Norris was vice president of the national council of the American Physical Education Association, and president of the Mid-West Association of Directors of Physical Education for Women in Colleges and Universities.[15][16] She was president of the Minneapolis Women's Rotary Club.[17]

Personal life and legacy

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Norris was blind in her later years, and learned to type and use Braille. She died at her Minneapolis home in 1958, aged 83 years.[18] She donated her 40 acres of land at Anoka, Minnesota to the University of Minnesota.[1][19][20] This land with her cabin is part of the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. A gymnasium at the university was named for Norris,[21] as is a scholarship fund.[22] Norris Field House and Gymnasium was demolished in 2011.[23] In 1928, she was elected a Charter Fellow in the National Academy of Kinesiology (née American Academy of Physical Education).[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hunt, Sophie (2 April 2021). "From the Magazine: Edifices for Educators". Hennepin History Museum. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  2. ^ "Women's History Month: UMN Faculty". University of Minnesota Women's Center Blog. 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  3. ^ State University of New York College at Cortland (1897-01-01). "Team Photograph, Women's Basketball". Women's Basketball Images.
  4. ^ University of Chicago (1911). Annual Register. p. 65.
  5. ^ Norris, Julia Anna (1911). "A Graded Course in Schoolroom Gymnastics. V". The Elementary School Teacher. 11 (10): 505–516. doi:10.1086/454069. ISSN 1545-5858. JSTOR 992580. S2CID 222328253.
  6. ^ a b "'U' Girls Director to Promote Dancing". Star Tribune. 1912-09-11. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Norris, J. Anna (1941). "The Challenge of the Field of Health and Physical Education". Pi Lambda Theta Journal. 20 (2): 45–47. ISSN 2374-3093. JSTOR 42915707.
  8. ^ Brady, Tim (2007). Gopher Gold: Legendary Figures, Brilliant Blunders, and Amazing Feats at the University of Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-87351-601-3.
  9. ^ University of Minnesota (1925). A Sketch of the University of Minnesota During a Quarter Century, 1900-1925 ... p. 25.
  10. ^ "Demand for Physical Educators in Schools Declared Increasing". Star Tribune. 1923-07-22. p. 61. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  11. ^ Verbrugge, Martha H. (1988). Able-bodied Womanhood: Personal Health and Social Change in Nineteenth-century Boston. Oxford University Press. pp. 181–182. ISBN 978-0-19-505124-7 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Norris, Julia Anna (1923). Physical Education as a Profession. Woman's Occupational Bureau.
  13. ^ "Review of 'An Athletic Program for Elementary Schools. Arranged According to Seasons'". The Journal of Education. 106 (24): 647–648. 1927. doi:10.1177/002205742710602421. ISSN 0022-0574. JSTOR 42836008. S2CID 220805225.
  14. ^ "Attacks on Athletics for Women are Discounted Here". Minnepolis Sunday Tribune. June 26, 1921.
  15. ^ Bell, Margaret (May 1932). "Mid-West Association of Directors of Physical Education for Women in Colleges and Universities". The Journal of Health and Physical Education. 3 (5): 6–7. doi:10.1080/23267240.1932.10626468.
  16. ^ "Dr. Norris Announces M.P.E. Convention Plans". Star Tribune. 1926-02-28. p. 42. Retrieved 2021-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Dr. J. Anna Norris Heads Rotary Women". Star Tribune. 1929-05-26. p. 52. Retrieved 2021-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Dr. Anna Norris Dies; 'Phy Ed' Pioneer at 'U'". The Minneapolis Star. 1958-09-19. p. 36. Retrieved 2021-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Dr. J. Anna Norris Leaving 'U' Post After 3 Decades". The Minneapolis Star. 1941-07-01. p. 28. Retrieved 2021-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Dolan, Phyllis (1941-10-26). "Retirement Brings Playtime for Dr. Norris, 'U' Sports Director". The Minneapolis Star. p. 37. Retrieved 2021-06-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Olson, Amy. "Long-awaited St. Paul Gym". The Minnesota Daily. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  22. ^ "J Anna Norris Scholarship Fund [0496]". College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  23. ^ Johnson, Brian (2011-08-16). "University of Minnesota advances plans to demolish Norris Hall". Finance & Commerce. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  24. ^ Cardinal, Bradley J. (2022). "The National Academy of Kinesiology: Its founding, focus, and future". Kinesiology Review. 11 (1): 6–25. doi:10.1123/kr.2021-0064.
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