Julia Ann Sears (1839–1929) was a pioneering academic and suffragist, achieving a milestone early in her career as she became the first woman to head a public college in the United States, in 1872.

[2] Constant, Sears' father, was a sea captain who retired to become a cranberry farmer and salt manufacturer.

[2] Overall, the Sears' Family consists primarily of sea captains, religious figures in the Methodist and Baptist faiths, as well as educators.

[2] Julia was the second youngest of six siblings: Thankful Snow, Emily, Sarah R., Betsey Thomas, and Amanda.

[2] As children, Julia and her sisters underwent religious training by Methodist ministers, at month-long summer camps.

[2] At the end of her education, Julia Sears received a General Diploma of the Institution, similar to a modern-day GED.

[2] Her first address to its female graduates was forthright, stating: You are stepping out into life at a time when you hear not the sound, 'thus far in education may you go and no farther, this place you may fill, but not that'; but, instead, universities and colleges open wide their doors and bid you enter, and any place you are fitted to fill is no longer denied you.However, such frankness was still controversial, and she was forced to leave the university after only a year.

At her death in 1929,[3] the campus newspaper said, "Her precision, her accuracy, her fairness, her brilliant demonstrations, and, above all, her ability to inspire the ambition of all those she taught became famous incidents of her instruction at Peabody."

This quote was inscribed on the wall of a newly constructed residence hall that was named in her honor at Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2015, and is a reminder of her impact on the community.