Jesse and Florence Currier collection

Jesse Jewett Currier, a Delaware, Ohio, native was born in Madison County on December 14, 1906. He graduated from Carroll High School in Carroll, Ohio, in 1925. Jesse received his bachelor's degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1931 and his master's degree from Ohio State University in 1937. He worked as a feature writer for the Columbus Dispatch and served as a correspondent for several other Ohio newspapers from 1932-1937. Mr. Currier was also the director of adult education courses for the Delaware, Ohio, Public Schools from 1935 to 1937. By 1937, he was a journalism professor at Ohio State University.

On December 21, 1936, Jesse married Florence K. Liebendorfer, who was born in Delaware, Ohio, in approximately 1909. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1931. Florence had taught English and journalism at Willis High School until she married Jesse.

In 1940, Jesse became the first director of the journalism program at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and was instrumental in establishing the journalism major there in 1946. In addition to his directorship duties, he also taught journalism courses, served as publicity director, and supervised student publications at the University. Mr. Currier also wrote a book entitled "The Beginnings of Ohio Journalism" in 1942. He served as the executive secretary of the Northwestern Ohio Newspaper Association for a time later in life, and in February of 1967, the organization gave him an Outstanding Service Award. On May 20, 1966, the student journalists at Bowling Green State University honored Jesse for twenty-five years of service. He resigned as director of the journalism department in early 1967, but continued to teach until health considerations forced him to stop during the spring of 1969. Jesse Currier died on July 22, 1969. Prior to his death, Jesse donated money to the B.G.S.U. Foundation, and the first scholarships given in his honor were awarded in 1971. With a generous donation in 1973, Florence Currier permanently established the scholarship fund in her husband's memory. The B.G.S.U. division of the Kappa Tau Alpha journalism honor society also named itself the Jesse J. Currier Chapter in honor of the late journalism program director in 1971.

Florence Currier began her career at Bowling Green State University in 1942. Mrs. Currier was a house mother for the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority, and she and Jesse served as resident counselors there until 1947. Florence was instrumental in bringing additional national sororities to campus as well as establishing the Panhellenic Council. Mrs. Currier was appointed Dean of Women in 1949, a position which she held until her retirement in 1963. In addition to creating the first handbook for female students, Florence was credited with developing residence hall activities and establishing the counselor system for those halls. Mrs. Currier also founded the Association for Women Students, as well as establishing and serving as the advisor of Cap and Gown, a senior female honorary that evolved into the Mortar Board. To honor her upon her retirement in 1963, the University created the Florence Currier Award. Florence also received the Honorary Alumnus Award from the B.G.S.U. Alumni Association in 1975, becoming only the fourth person to receive the honor up to that point in the University's history. For a time after retirement, Mrs. Currier moved back to Delaware, Ohio, but eventually returned to Bowling Green. She died on August 18, 1995, in the Otterbein-Portage Valley Retirement Center in Pemberville, Ohio.