Lawrence, Isabel

Isabel Lawrence was born in 1853 in Jay, Maine. She graduated from the Oswego Normal School in Oswego, New York, in 1872.

Before coming to St. Cloud State, Lawrence taught fourth grade in Portland, Maine (1870-1871), was director of training at the Oswego Normal School in New York (1874-1876), assistant superintendent in Yonkers, New York (1877-1878), and then director of training at the Whitewater Normal School in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

Lawrence came to St. Cloud State in 1879 and quickly became a beloved and influential faculty member. The first Lawrence Hall (1885) and the second Lawrence Hall (1905), both originally built as women's dormitories, were named in her honor. From late 1914 to summer 1916, she was acting president while Waite Shoemaker was on leave due to illness. Lawrence was St. Cloud State's first female president, acting or permanent.

She retired in 1921 after serving St. Cloud State as director of the training school for over 40 years. She received numerous letters from grateful former students, and the Alumni Association raised funds to pay for her medical care and retirement during the Great Depression. She passed away on March 21, 1936 and is buried in St. Cloud's North Star Cemetery.