Charles R., Elizabeth B. ('60), and Leslie Ann Neatrour

Dr. Elizabeth B. Neatrour (’60) established this gift in 1988. She established it in honor of her mother, Amalia D. Baylor. Dr. Elizabeth received an M.A. from Madison College in 1960 in Education. She received a Fulbright award to study and teach in France and earned a certificate in French studies from the University of Paris. After receiving her Ph.D, Dr. Neatrour joined the faculty of Madison College in 1961 as a professor of Russian and French.

In 1974, she was named chair of the department of Foreign Language & Literature. She was known internationally for her research, scholarship and writings on Nadezhda Teffi and was considered the leading expert, even in Russia, on the pre-Russian Revolution author and playwright. Dr. Neatrour received the prestigious Pushkin Medal in 1998 from the American Council of Teachers of Russian, among numerous honors during her academic career. She was honored with a reception at the Russian embassy in Washington for her efforts at developing American-Russian goodwill relations.

In 1991, Dr. Neatrour received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, and, in 1989, she received the Distinguished Foreign Language Teacher award from the Foreign Language Association of Virginia. She received JMU’s first Distinguished Service Award in 1996, and Mary Washington named her its Distinguished Alumnus in 1999. She founded JMU’s Governor’s Russian Studies Academy. This scholarship, honoring her mother, benefits students studying Russian.