Jane Coburn Belcher was born in New York City 1910. She attended schools in Maplewood, New Jersey before fulfilling her bachelor’s degree with a major in French from Colby College in 1932. While a student at Colby, Belcher did not even major in Biology. Her major was in French, which provided her with a linguistic training, appreciation for literature and holistic approach to the written arts. Not much is known about the specific courses she took outside of her major and the school’s distribution requirements; she did work as a laboratory assistant to Professor Webster Chester, allowing us to infer that she pursued and achieved high rank within the science courses at Colby.
Immediately upon graduating from Colby, she further pursued higher education and received a Masters in Zoology from Columbia University. This degree opened up doors to work within the scientific community. In 1933, an opportunity to teach Biology at Colby brought her back to Mayflower Hill. While working at Colby, Belcher taught courses in General Biology, Zoology, and Embryology. She eventually went on to become a tenured professor and Ecology Department head at Sweet Briar College, before retiring in 1975.
Curated by Ophelia Baxter