Katharine Sprague Alvord was DePauw University's first dean of women (1915-1936). A native of Sandusky, Ohio and a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia University, she is credited with starting most of the women's organizations on campus and for encouraging a large number of DePauw women to pursue advanced degrees. Alvord died at her home in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, April 15, 1960, at the age of 88.