A. Navarro

Neighbor of the Nittany Lion Shrine, located on the east side of Penn State Abington campus, and the center of the tutoring, advising, and learning center offices is the Sutherland Building.

In 1916, the Sutherland Building was commissioned by educator Abby Ann Sutherland, according to Penn State University Libraries. Sutherland committed her life to education and is described by Penn State as, “beloved, occasionally feared, and always-formidable.” Following Sutherland’s commission, Sutherland would continue to expand education, culminating into the creation of Penn State Abington.

Sutherland was born in Canada in 1871 and later raised in New England. By the late 1800s, Sutherland began her career as an educator at public schools in Salem, Massachusetts.

In 1902, Sutherland would join The Ogontz School for Young Ladies, as faculty. The Ogontz School was a private girls’ school that had served two locations before Sutherland’s eventual expansion, which were Philadelphia and Elkins Park.

By 1916, Sutherland would become the principal and owner of The Ogontz School. Determined on expanding the school, Sutherland would commission the Sutherland Building and purchase 54 acres of property in Abington. 100 Years of Ogontz explains, “the cost of land and building was financed by a bond issue. For the next thirty-three years, I [Abby Sutherland] was paying off that debt.” Through Sutherland’s eyes, the cost of education outweighed decades long debt.

By 1917, Sutherland would officially move The Ogontz School from Elkins Park to Abington. This movement prompted Sutherland’s further development of educational tools, buildings, faculty, and student capacity.

Sutherland would serve as a principal until 1950, according to “The Ogontz School Archives.” During her time, The Ogontz School offered an array of classes ranging from economics, philosophy, scenery painting, food, clothing, and advanced chemistry.

As extracurriculars, Sutherland would offer military drills, summer camp, dances, order competitions, and May Day celebrations.

Notably, Sutherland would write Talks with Girls (1915), Echoes of Ogontz Days (1950), and 100 Years of Ogontz (1958) for her school. Moreover, Sutherland would keep annual academic memory books and write individualized poems for her graduating students for the yearbooks.

In a yearbook, Sutherland writes to a student:

Name and nature speak you truly,

Constance of the merry smile!

Constance, to our hearts we hold you,

And we love you all the while.

Certainly, Sutherland held education and her students close to her heart.

Ogontz Junior College (1950), by Ann Barrington Lupton, describes Sutherland as, “our guide to the good, the beautiful and the true. Miss Sutherland has led us to the finer things in life and has inspired us to be as gracious and kind as she.”

By 1923, Sutherland added Lares Building, Rydal Schoolhouse, Rydal Hall, log cabins, science laboratories, greenhouses, supplemental student housing and beyond.

Sutherland’s affinity to education would persist into her old age. By 1950, at the age of 79, Sutherland would gift her school to The Pennsylvania State University. Sutherland would spend her remaining life teaching classes at the school, which include History of English Literature and New Testament Greek, according to 100 Years of Ogontz.

Eventually, Sutherland would die at the age of 90 in 1961. In Sutherland’s eyes, education was her life. Sutherland would dedicate books, writings, finance, time, and ultimately her institution in the pursuit and love for education.