Schumann, Marguerite Ellen

By William S. Powell, 1994

19 May 1923–14 Mar. 1986

Marguerite Ellen Schumann, author, was born at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., the daughter of the Reverend Frederick and Adelia Schumann. In her senior year at Lawrence College in Appleton, Wis., she became the first female president of the student body. Graduated with a degree in music, she was an assistant in the college publicity office for a brief time before becoming supervisor of vocal music in the schools of Portage, Wis. Returning to Lawrence College, she was director of publicity and publications from 1945 to 1968. Her history of Lawrence College, Creation of a Campus , was published in 1957.

When Douglas M. Knight, president of Lawrence, became president of Duke University, Marguerite Schumann joined his staff in Durham as assistant to the president for publications and research. On leaving Lawrence she was awarded an honorary master of arts degree, the first time an honorary degree had been bestowed upon someone who was not retired. In 1969 she was employed by The University of North Carolina as publications officer for the Carolina Population Center, and in 1973 she became the first editor of the University Gazette , a post she held until February 1982. In 1978 she also became the editor of the National Humanities Center's Newsletter in the Research Triangle.

She was the author of The First State University: A Walking Guide (1972, 1985), Bricks and People: A Walking Guide to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1973), Strolling at State: A Walking Guide to North Carolina State University (1973), Stones, Bricks, and Faces: A Walking Guide to Duke University (1976), The Living Land: An Outdoor Guide to North Carolina (1977), and Tar Heel Sights: Guide to North Carolina's Heritage (1983). She also was editor of Grand Old Ladies: North Carolina Architecture during the Victorian Era (1984) and coauthor of Bull Durham and Beyond: A Touring Guide to City and County (1976).