Inspirational ANU Women - Ethel Tory

Ethel Tory was a passionate supporter of French and Drama who left a lasting philanthropic legacy at ANU

The Ethel Tory Centre is located in the Baldessin Precinct Building. It is a state-of-the-art languages centre that promotes student collaboration while enabling flexible teaching and learning modes.

Dr Ethel Tory was an ANU lecturer in French and Latin in the 1960s and 1970s, and an advocate for drama and language studies, particularly French. Dr Tory was passionate about the theatre and a long-term supporter of the Alliance Française in Canberra. She published an edition of Giraudoux's play Intermezzo in 1970 for use by secondary and university students. Ethel Tory was appointed a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French government in 1992 for services to French culture.

In 1995, the Ethel Tory Drama Endowment was established by the ANU from donations she made. She made a large bequest to the University on her death in 2003 to support academics and students in drama and languages. The Ethel Tory Languages Scholarship assists a number of students each year to study languages internationally.

This week is International Women's Day so we are celebrating the women of ANU who have helped to 'build a better world'.

Do you know an ANU alumna who deserves a building named after her?

We would love to hear about inspirational ANU alumnae who are building a better world.

And while we can't promise that she will have a building named after her, we would love to share her story.