Alta Schrock
Alta Schrock was a biology professor and community activist in Western Maryland who was the first Mennonite woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D.
Schrock was born on April 3, 1911 on Strawberry Hill Farm, near Grantsville, Maryland. She graduated from high school in Salisbury, Pennsylvania and earned an associate degree in biology from Waynesburg College. She did graduate work at the University of Cincinnati, Oberlin College and Kent State University, and received a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1944, the first Mennonite woman in America to receive her doctorate.
Schrock was on the faculty at American University, Goshen College, and Frostburg State University. At Goshen, Schrock taught biology and was a faculty sponsor for the college's Audubon Society chapter.
In 1957, Schrock left her teaching position at Goshen College to return home to Western Maryland to found the Springs Historical Society, the Penn Alps Center, and the Spruce Forest Artisan Village, dedicated to preserving the heritage, folk art, and craft-work of the region. Schrock built Penn Alps into a tourist attraction, with an inn, restaurant, museum and craft shop where visitors could watch local artisans work and buy their products. Penn Alps held an annual Summerfest, drawing about a thousand people a day by the 1980s.
Schrock was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.
Schrock died on November 7, 2001, of circulatory illness at Memorial Hospital in Cumberland, Maryland.
In 2007, the Maryland Historical Trust and the Maryland State Arts Council created a new award presented at the Maryland Traditions showcase, the Achievement in Living Traditions and Arts Award, named for Schrock.
