Josephine Young Case

Josephine Young Case, novelist, poet and educator, joined the Skidmore College Board of Trustees in 1938 and was its chair from 1960 to 1971.

At Case's first meeting as chair, new trustee J. Erik Jonsson offered to buy the Woodlawn estate as a site for a new campus. After considerable study and debate, the board decided to take the leap.

In April 1964, before the first building on the new campus was completed, President Val Wilson suddenly died. “Jo” Case assumed the president's duties until Joseph C. Palamountain Jr. took the helm in 1965.

Case helped guide Skidmore through some of its most difficult times and major decisions. During the 15 months that she led the college and her many years on the board of trustees, she helped keep together the Skidmore of the past, build the Skidmore of today and set high standards for the Skidmore of the future.

The Case College Center was dedicated in her honor in 1974.