A forgotten trailblazer: Remembering Alice Guest Howson, one of Middlebury's first women trustees

In June 1948, the Middlebury Board of Trustees voted to elect two women to the board for the first time: Gertrude Cornish Milliken and Alice Guest Howson. While the name Milliken may be familiar to many students on campus, Howson is not. In current blog posts, articles and published materials, Gertrude Milliken is listed as the sole first woman trustee. I am asking Middlebury College to correct this omission to honor Alice Howson for her contributions to our school. 

Alice Mary Guest called East Orange, New Jersey, home. She attended Middlebury from 1926 to 1930 and was involved in nearly every aspect of campus life. Her sports involvement included hockey, volleyball, basketball and track. She served on the Dramatic Club and the Panhellenic Council, was House Chairman of Weybridge House, Vice-Chairman of Junior Week and the Social Editor of the 1930 “Kaleidoscope.” Some of her theatre acting credits include a production of “Not Herbert” by Howard Irving and “Up the Sandy” by Lucille Baker. 

After graduating from Middlebury, Howson continued her academic pursuits. She was awarded the Dutton Fellowship in 1930-31 and earned a diploma in English Language and Literature from King’s College, University of London. She wrote of her experience in a 1948 newsletter: “I am convinced that through students, working and living in a country other than their own, international friendship and understanding can be best promoted.” She studied at Bread Loaf in the summers of 1932, 1935 and 1936 to receive a Master of Arts. After leaving Vermont, she went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley and held a teaching fellowship at Vanderbilt University. She earned Columbia’s Ellis Fellowship and worked on a PhD dissertation on Herman Melville as a lyric poet. 

Alice Howson taught high school English, then taught at Brooklyn College and Vassar as an instructor of English. Alongside her membership in the National Education Association and the New Jersey State Teachers Organization, she worked with Middlebury’s Alumnae Association as President of the New Jersey Alumnae Group and Vice President of the New York Group. She acted as a chairman of the Nominating Committee and served on the Alumnae Council. She married John Howard Howson in 1947.

Alice Howson’s involvement with Middlebury beyond her undergraduate years demonstrates her strong connection to the college. In 1948, she and Gertrude Milliken were appointed to Middlebury’s Board of Trustees. In 1962, Howson was awarded an Alumni Plaque for “meritorious service to the College” and elected a Life Trustee. In 1965, Guest served on an ad hoc Committee of Student Life to plan for support of the student experience amid planned enrollment increases. In 1980, she received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Middlebury. Howson continued her service as a trustee of Middlebury College until 1979 and passed away in 1996.  

At a family reunion in Toronto in September 2024, one of my cousins mentioned some distant connection to Middlebury through the Howsons. During the drive back to our hotel, I found an image of Howson on Middlebury’s online archive, which sparked my initial investigation into her involvement with Middlebury.

With help from Middlebury’s Special Collections, I was able to collect this account of Howson’s contributions to her students, her community and to Middlebury. Although she passed away thirty years ago, her family and friends still fondly remember Gram Alice.

We cannot say for certain why or how Alice Guest Howson is not currently recognized for her historic contributions to Middlebury College. Her record of dedication and involvement is clear. Through this article, I hope to honor her memory and ask Middlebury to rectify this gap in its history.