Dorothy Schwieder
Dorothy Schwieder was an American historian, biographer, and academic. She joined the faculty of Iowa State University in 1966, becoming the first woman to be appointed as a professor in the Department of History. Schwieder authored a memoir and biography the late U.S. Senator George McGovern, her former college professor. A native of South Dakota, much of her research and writings focused on the history of Iowa, including the state's Amish communities.
Biography
Schwieder was born Dorothy Hubbard on November 28, 1933, in Presho, South Dakota, where she was also raised. She was the ninth of her family's ten children. She married Elmer Schwieder in 1955, with whom she had two children, Diane Schwieder Risius and David Schwieder. Elmer Schwieder was a professor of sociology at Iowa State University.In 1954, she received her B.A. in psychology and history from Dakota Wesleyan University, where she studied under then-professor, George McGovern. She began her graduate studies in 1964 at Iowa State University, where she obtained her M.A. in history in 1968. Scwieder completed her doctorate in history from the University of Iowa in 1981.
Schwieder joined Dakota Wesleyan University in 1960 as a part-time instructor. She then became a part-time professor at Iowa State University in 1966. Dorothy Schwieder became the first female appointed professor within the Department of History. She was also the history department's only, full-time female professor for nearly twenty years. She retired in 2001.
Schwieder died on August 13, 2014, in Ames, Iowa, at the age of 80. Her funeral was held at the Collegiate United Methodist Church at Iowa State University.