Ruby F. Sia (1884 – 1955) was a Chinese educator. She was the first Chinese graduate of
Cornell College in Iowa, United States, a member of the class of 1910.
Early life and education
Sia was born in Foochow (
Fuzhou), the daughter of Sia Heng-To, a
Methodist minister and educator.[1] Her uncle, Sia Sek Ong, was also a Methodist minister and educator.[2][3] She first traveled to North America in 1900,[4] and graduated from Methodist Church-affiliated Cornell College in 1910, and was the school's first Chinese graduate. Cornell awarded her an honorary master's degree in 1918, and an honorary doctorate in 1936.[5] She took courses
Baltimore Women's College in 1911 and 1912,[6] and at
Teachers' College, Columbia University during her visit to the United States in 1920 and 1921.[7]
While in the United States, she was associate editor of The Chinese Students' Monthly.[8] and a contributor to the World's Chinese Students' Journal.[3] Her cousin Mabel Sia was also educated in Iowa.[9]
Career
Sia traveled to China with American missionaries in 1904,[10] and spoke at church events during her college years.[11] On her return to China after college, Sia advocated for modernization in education, and especially for the education of girls,[12] while recognizing traditional gendered expectations. For example, she promoted chemistry, nutrition and physiology courses, for women to manage domestic responsibilities more scientifically.[13] She was a teacher and director of music[14] at
Hwa Nan College,[15] a Methodist missionary women's college in Foochow.[16][17] She was a founder of the Foochow Woman's Patriotic Society.[18]
Sia returned to the United States from 1920 to 1921 as a conference delegate and lecturer.[7][19][20] She toured in the United States in 1936, when she attended an international Methodist conference,[21] gave lectures, and raised funds for her college.[5] She made another lecture tour in the United States in 1940 and 1941.[22][23]
Publications
"Education the Chief Factor in Chinese Enlightenment" (1907)[24]