Quick Facts
Biography
Mable Electa Buland Campbell (1885-1961) was a Professor of English in Washington State during the early 20th century, and was, at one time, the youngest person to hold a PH.D. in the United States. Buland was also active in women’s groups associated with women’s suffrage.
Early Life and Education
Raised in the West, Buland earned both her B.A. in 1904 and her M.A. in 1908 from the University of Washington. Buland did graduate work at Yale from 1906-1907, and from 1908-1909 and at Columbia University from 1907-1908 before receiving her Doctorate degree in English from Yale. At the time she completed her doctorate degree, Buland was the youngest PH.D. in America.
Buland’s dissertation, The Presentation of Time in the Elizabethan Drama was published in 1912.
Career
While Buland was a Graduate student at the University of Washington, she worked as an Assistant in Pedagogy at the University. After receiving her graduate degree, Buland returned to Washington State to become a Professor of English at the University of Puget Sound from 1909-1910. From 1910-1911, Buland taught English at Whitman College.
After leaving her positions in higher education, Buland served as the City Superintendent of Schools in Kalama, Washington From 1915-1916.
Community Involvement
Buland was an active member of the Kalama Woman’s club, and served as the group’s President during 1919. Women’s clubs often offered women who had little or no access to education the opportunity to learn about current issues, particularly in Washington State, where women gained the right to vote before women in many other areas of the country. Women's clubs also focused significant time on issues surrounding women's suffrage
In the fall of 1924, when Emma Smith Devoe resigned from her position as vice-chair of the Republican State Central Committee, Buland took over the position. The position was meant to help establish women’s clubs and to organize Republican women for upcoming elections.
Personal life
In October 1911, Buland married George Norman Campbell, and in February 1917, the couple had a son, George Buland.