Betty Scott Noble and Susan Dougherty are being honored jointly for their work on behalf of Agnes Scott College. Founded in 1889, Agnes Scott College educates women “to think deeply, live honorably and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times.”

Betty is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Agnes Irvine Scott, an Irish immigrant from Northern Ireland, for whom Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia is named.

George Washington Scott, Betty’s great-great-grandfather, helped to found the school for women in 1898 and named it in honor of his mother.

Betty Scott Noble grew up in South Carolina and Alabama and was educated at Agnes Scott College, where she is now an adjunct professor. She taught elementary school for five years during the early days of integration in Alabama, which sparked interests in school, family and community. She received a PhD in counseling and school psychology from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

In 1999, Betty’s mother, Betty Pope Scott Noble, authored a family memoir, The Story of Agnes Irvine Scott, in honor of Agnes Scott’s 200th birthday.

Taking on her mother’s passion to tell the family story, Betty visited Ireland and Pennsylvania, the places Agnes lived, to gather information from distant relatives. Susan Dougherty, a graduate of Agnes Scott and an employee of the college, began assisting Betty in 2006 and a joint endeavor emerged.

A native of Atlanta, Susan Dougherty began working at Agnes Scott College in 1998. She decided to complete her undergraduate degree in women’s studies at the college and graduated summa cum laude in 2006. Using family photographs, letters, and archival sources, Susan has presented the story of Agnes and her son George to various audiences.  As manager of faculty services, Susan is very involved in academic life at Agnes Scott and believes that no student should graduate without knowing the story of the woman behind the name! Now, thanks to the generosity of Betty’s father, Dr. J. Phillips Noble, who helped establish the Betty Pope Scott Noble College Heritage Project in honor of his wife, students and visitors wishing to research the history of the college and the Scott family will be able to do so.

In June 2008, Betty and Susan collaborated on a presentation about the project at the Ulster American Heritage Symposium in Omagh, Northern Ireland.