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Nellie May Naylor Born in Clear Lake, Iowa and most of her life was spent at Iowa State University-Ames, Iowa. Brick Section B - Row 19
I don't need to justify why Dr. Nellie May Naylor deserves to be included in the "Plaza of Heroines." Dr. Naylor's outstanding career and her contribution to Iowa State University has been well documented and is on file at the ISU Chemistry Department. I am honoring her because after sixty years I still remember her as the professor who did the most to instill confidence in me that I could master the required subjects, particularly chemistry, to obtain a degree in Foods and Nutrition with a major in Dietetics. I came from a small town in northern Iowa. Chemistry was not taught in the high school and I was worried I couldn't keep up with students who had had high school chemistry. My worries were unfounded. Dr. Naylor made Freshman Chemistry so interesting and easy to understand that I knew I could compete with the other students. I never looked back. I did not know Dr. Naylor personally, but I never forgot her. Fortunately for me, in 1931 she was still doing the lecturing in the class room. Maxine Merrick 3/5/94 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The woman I would like to honor is Nellie Naylor. Miss Naylor was my 106 Chemistry teacher when I attended Iowa State College in 1948. She was also my Mother's Chemistry teacher when she attended Iowa State many years earlier. My Mother died when I was 13 months old and I don't have any memories of her so I think this is one reason we had a special bond. I found this out from an Aunt who had also attended Iowa State. I had not had Chemistry in High School and I was rather lost. I took Chemistry 105 and didn't really know what I was doing. I took Chemistry 106 and had Miss Naylor and she passed me with a D. I was majoring in Home Economics Education and had several more Chemistry courses ahead of me so I decided to take 106 over again and see if I could get a better understanding. I got Miss Naylor again. She looked at me that first day in class like, "haven't I seen you before?" but she didn't say anything about it. She asked me a question that day and I told her I didn't know the answer. She looked at me long and hard and asked me "Why didn't I know." I felt mighty uneasy and about like two cents. Then she broke into a smile and we worked it through together. I think she taught me to think it through and to analyze. Believe me, I knew after that not to say I don't know--but to be better prepared and to think it through. I ended the course being good friends with her and having a good foundation for the rest of my chemistry courses. She really was an inspiration to me and I'm happy to take this opportunity of honoring her. I'm sure she was an inspiration to others also. -Betty Benson Molle 6/23/94 Nellie May Naylor was born on an Iowa Farm March 20, 1885. She completed her high school education in 1902, taught country school for two years, then attended the State University of Iowa where she received the B.A. degree with major in chemistry in 1908. In the fall of 1909 she came to the Iowa State College as Assistant in Chemistry, in which capacity she spent full time teaching laboratory sections, preparing lecture demonstrations, and grading student's laboratory notes. After a time the desire for advanced study led her to earn credits and do research for the degree M. S. which she received in 1918. Her rank in the Department was then advanced to Instructor. In 1920 she was granted a leave of absence for study toward the doctorate, and she received the Ph.D. degree from Columbia University in 1923. Dr. Naylor returned to Iowa State College in 1923 as Assistant Professor, and was advanced to Associate Professor in 1928. Dr. Naylor is best known for her development of courses in freshman chemistry for Home Economics students, and for her teaching in this field. In these activities she has been an inspiring leader, and they have constituted a full-time job for her. But she has also found time to conduct research in Enzyme Chemistry with the help of graduate students. Nine graduate students earned advanced degrees under her direction, and sixteen scientific publications came from this work. Dr. Naylor found the problems of teaching general chemistry to Freshman Home Economics students a real challenge, and throughout her career these problems engaged much of her attention and time. During the 23 years when she had this responsibility of teaching these students and guiding the teaching of graduate assistants in this area, she met in lecture sections and supervised the work of some 500 home Economics students each year, or a total of more than 1 1,000 girls. During all this time she always kept foremost the needs of the students, and labored incessantly to improve the presentation of chemistry to them, and to better meet the requirements of their curricula. to better achieve these goals, and better correlate beginning chemistry with Home Economics, in 1933 she published her text on "Introductory Chemistry with Household Applications". This textbook has been widely used elsewhere as well as in the classes at Iowa State College. Dr. Naylor's leadership in developing chemistry for Home Economics Students has perhaps not been equaled on any other campus. Her leadership of graduate assistants who helped her with this teaching was inspiring both to these graduate student teachers and to the freshman girls whom they taught. Only one member of the Chemistry Faculty has a longer period of service at Iowa State College than Dr. Naylor. During her long tenure she has been a continual inspiration to the undergraduate students, in her classes, and to the graduate students who have assisted her in teaching and who have worked in her research laboratory. She continued to inspire Junior College girls in the Science Division whom she counseled. Dr. Naylor retired on a part-time basis in 1946.
Narrative Updated: 3/15/1994
Honored By:	Maxine Merrick Betty Benson Molle