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CLA remembers Leah Rawls Atkins, first history doctorate graduate and founding director of CAH

Leah Rawls Atkins '58, '60, '74, the first person to earn a history doctorate from Auburn University and the founding director of the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities, passed away in October at the age of 89.

Atkins' legacy in academics, service and athletics spans several universities across Alabama. After earning bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in history from Auburn, Atkins taught history at Auburn, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Samford University.

Her work, including "Alabama: The History of a Deep South State," was foundational for countless southern historians.

"Dr. Atkins was an enthusiastic supporter of Alabama state history," said Department of History Chair Melissa Blair. "Colleagues at the Alabama Department of Archives & History, the Alabama Historical Association and the Encyclopedia of Alabama have all testified to the critical role Atkins played in supporting both those entities and their individual careers. The study of Alabama's history has lost one of its giants with her passing."

After teaching at Samford University for more than a decade, Atkins returned to Auburn in 1985 as the founding director of the Center for the Arts & Humanities at Pebble Hill, later named in honor of Caroline Marshall Draughon.

Since her tenure as director, generations of Alabamians have benefited from conferences, workshops, lifelong learning classes, field trips, writing retreats and other opportunities to reflect on the human experience in an environment that inspires and instructs. 

Director Mark Wilson said today, public libraries and other groups still credit Atkins for helping them build scholar-led reading discussions, local history projects and enthusiasm for learning.

"Dr. Atkins' energy, abilities and commitment to the people of Alabama is the reason the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities exists with a reputation of service around the state," Wilson said. "She believed in the land-grant mission of Auburn University, and she influenced everyone with whom she came into contact.  She was a force for good, and her infectious laughter echoes in the hearts of everyone who had the honor of knowing her."

Atkins will also be remembered as Alabama's first waterskiing world champion and the first woman to be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame who paved the way for female athletes everywhere.

Each year, Auburn University Athletics awards the Leah Rawls Atkins Award to a female student-athlete who displays excellence in academics and athletics and who models leadership, integrity and courage. It is the highest honor an Auburn female student-athlete can receive.

A celebration of life will be held Monday, Oct. 14, at 10:30 a.m. at The Chapel at Church of the Highlands in Irondale, Alabama. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Auburn University Libraries.

Read more about Dr. Atkins and pay your respects by visiting her obituary.

Tags: History Center for the Arts and Humanities Alumni