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Elizabeth Topham Kennan Wikipedia

Elizabeth Topham Kennan, Ph.D. (Mount Holyoke College, class of 1960) is an American academic who served as president of Mount Holyoke from 1978 - 1995. She also acted as the president of Five Colleges (Massachusetts) inc. from 1985-1994.

After Kennan received her Bachelor of Arts|B.A. (summa cum laude) in history from Mount Holyoke, she pursued an Master's degree|M.A. at Oxford University which she completed in 1962. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1966. She was a professor of medieval history at Catholic University from 1966-1978 before joining Mount Holyoke as president. Upon her retirement from Mount Holyoke in 1995, the http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/950526/kennan.html Kennan Faculty Chair and Lectureship was established.

In 2000, Kennan co-authored the mystery novel, Overnight Float, with Jill Ker Conway (former president of Smith College). The novel is published under the pen - name Clare Munnings and was their first venture into the mystery genre.

Kennan currently lives in Kentucky with her husband, Michael Burns (historian)|Michael Burns, professor emeritus in history from Mount Holyoke. They have restored a thoroughbred horse farm on the National Register of Historic Places.

Last Modified:   2005-12-19