WOMEN IN THE BACKROUND OF HISTORY

Shortly after her graduation from Zurich, Lloyd received a letter from Henry Hudson Nicholson (1850–1940), chair of the Chemistry Department at the University of Nebraska, asking her to join the faculty there. Lloyd and Nicholson had met during their Harvard summers, both having studied under Mabery. Nicholson presented Lloyd with a rare opportunity to teach and conduct research at a co-educational university at a time when most of her female peers were relegated to teaching at secondary schools or women’s colleges.

Lloyd left London, where she briefly had worked as an assistant at the Normal School of Science and Royal School of Mines (now the Imperial College of London). She arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the summer of 1887. Lloyd was the second member of the chemistry faculty after Nicholson and the only one holding a doctoral degree. She arrived one year after the dedication of the university’s chemical laboratory building.

Upon her arrival, Lloyd was named associate professor of analytic chemistry. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Lloyd took on the role of assistant chemist at the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. Her research was supported by the federal Hatch Act of 1887, which provided funding for the founding of agricultural experiment stations across the country.

One year after she was hired, a tumultuous episode ensued wherein Lloyd was threatened with non-renewal of her contract. Newspapers reported that the university’s chancellor, James Irving Manatt (1845–1915), levied a personal attack against Lloyd, possibly driven by questions about her Quaker religion. A vote of confidence by the university’s faculty resulted in Lloyd’s reinstatement, and she was promoted to full professor. Amid growing unpopularity, Manatt stepped down shortly thereafter. From that year on, Lloyd received wide praise by faculty and students for her technical expertise, teaching ability, and devotion to public service. She became a popular figure at the university due in equal parts to her warm personality and her cultural refinement, provided by an Eastern upbringing and extensive European travels.

https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/rachel-holloway-lloyd.html