About the Cahill Learning Resources and Media Lab

Edvina Andrew Cahill with students

The Jane Andrew Cahill and Edvina Andrew Cahill Learning Resources and Media Laboratory is dedicated to two remarkable women. Jane Andrew Cahill was born in Scotland in 1884. As a young woman she moved to Canada where she met her husband, Edward Cahill. Edvina Andrew Cahill was born to them in Vancouver and, at the age of seven, she and her mother moved to San Francisco. After the death of her husband, Jane and Edvina Cahill, both determined and outspoken women, struggled together to make a living. Throughout it all, Jane Cahill encouraged her daughter to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.

Working her way through high school and college, Edvina Cahill earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and an elementary education credential from San Francisco State College in 1938. Later, she was a graduate of San Francisco State's first master's program in education. Edvina Cahill devoted 35 years to the children and schools of the San Francisco Unified School District. As an elementary school teacher she taught all the grade levels. As a vice-principal and principal, she worked in some of the most challenging inner city schools and won the admiration of her colleagues, teachers, and most importantly, her students. Her upbringing gave her a special understanding of the difficulties facing working students and students from single-parent families.

In the Spring of 1997, a reception was held to dedicate the Jane Andrew Cahill and Edvina Andrew Cahill Learning Resources and Media Lab in recognition of her generous bequest to San Francisco State University. A portion of her bequest will provide funds for acquisitions and teaching materials for the Cahill Learning Resources and Media Lab. Her bequest will also endow the Jane Andrew Cahill and Edvina Andrew Cahill Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will assist deserving San Francisco State undergraduates as they study to become elementary school teachers. Preference will be given to women and students from single-parent families.