Who is Mary E. Branch?

Mary Elizabeth Branch (1888-1944) was a Prince Edward County-born educator and college president who dedicated her career to African American education. 

Branch was one of ten children born to Tazewell Branch and Harriet Lacy, both formerly enslaved laborers who became successful Farmville business owners following Emancipation. After earning a teaching diploma from Virginia State College (now Virginia State University), Branch began her educational career as an elementary school teacher before joining the faculty at her alma mater, where she taught for twenty years. 

In 1930, Branch became the first woman to serve as president of Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University) in Austin, Texas. Tillotson flourished under Branch’s leadership, evolving from a struggling junior college to a respected four-year college. Her reform efforts included expanding the college’s library, encouraging the formation of student organizations, and laying the groundwork towards a merger with Huston College. 

During a time when Jim Crow laws and systemic racism severely limited educational opportunities for African Americans, Mary E. Branch dedicated her career to expanding and strengthening these educational opportunities. Her enduring legacy is honored through the names of the Mary E. Branch Elementary School and Mary E. Branch Heritage Center.