Susan Miller Dorsey
Susan Miller Dorsey served as the superintendent of the Los Angeles City Schools from 1920 to 1929.Biography
Susan Almira Miller was born in Penn Yan, New York, the daughter of James and Hannah Miller. A graduate of Vassar College, Miller moved to Los Angeles in the early 1880s with her husband, the Rev. Patrick William Dorsey, who had accepted a position as minister of the First Baptist Church.
In 1894, while teaching at Los Angeles High School, her husband left her with their young son. By 1902, she was working as a school administrator. In 1920, Dorsey became the first female superintendent of Los Angeles City Schools. She would serve in the capacity until her retirement in 1929.
In 1937 she spoke to the prohibitionist Women's Law Observance Association against literature about "the seamy things of life".
In 1937, Susan Miller Dorsey High School located in the Jefferson Park section of Los Angeles was dedicated in her honor. She died in 1946.
Dorsey Hall, a dormitory at Scripps College in Claremont, California is named for her.
