Divisions Leona Rachel Glidden Running (August 24, 1916 – January 22, 2014) was the first Seventh-day Adventist woman to earn a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
From an early age, Running was attracted to learning languages and was encouraged by her mother, who was a teacher.
[2] Running undertook a Bachelor of Arts program in modern languages (French, German, and English)[3] from Emmanuel Missionary College and graduated as valedictorian in 1937.
She was initially hired on a probationary basis, but within a year was given faculty status and not long after, full tenure.
[2] During her tenure at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (1955-2002), she taught Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian, Akkadian, Syriac, and Aramaic.