One of the first female faculty members (1936-1958)

Early Years

Clara Maude Hoyt was born in 1890.

Years at Luther

Clara Maude Hoyt (1890-1972), one of only three women appointed before World War II to become official “women of the faculty,” Clara Maude Hoyt joined the music department at Luther College in 1936. While at Luther, she taught voice lessons and was a choir director. She helped organize and became the director of a women’s chorus shortly after women were admitted to Luther. She remained the director of this group for ten years from 1936 to 1946. She was only the third member of the music department faculty when she began her career at Luther. She retired in 1958. She passed away in 1972.

Other Information

A room in Jenson Hall of Music has been named for Hoyt.

Resources in the Luther College Archives

• Luther College 1861-1961 by David T. Nelson
• Stability and Change: Luther College in Its Second Century by Leigh D. Jordahl and Harris E. Kaasa

Works Referenced

• Jordahl, Leigh D. and Harris E. Kaasa, Stability and Change: Luther College in Its Second Century, Luther College Press, Decorah: 1986.
• Nelson, David T., Luther College 1861-1961, Luther College Press, Decorah: 1961.
• Who's Who in the Luther College Archives