Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke

Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke (1854–1931) was the president of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island from 1913 to 1931 and was the daughter of RISD co-founder Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf.

Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke was born in Augusta, Georgia on Dec. 11. 1854 while her father, Jesse Metcalf, was working as a cotton buyer. Eliza Radeke's mother Helen Adella (Rowe) Metcalf was the co-founder of RISD in 1877. Eliza Metcalf attended Dr. Stockbridge's School in Providence and then received her A.B. from Vassar College in 1876. She later received an honorary A.M. from Brown University in 1914. Eliza Metcalf married Gustav Radeke, M.D., of Providence on May 27, 1880. In 1913 several years after her mother's death, Eliza Radeke became President of the R.I. School of Design and served on the Women's Advisory Committee of the Women's College at Brown University. She also served as a director of the American Federation of Arts. She was a member of the Unitarian Church and pursued various outdoor activities. Radeke's brother, Jesse H. Metcalf was a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island.^[1]

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