Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)

Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf founded RISD in 1877 after attending the Women's Pavilion at Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition — a visit that convinced her design education needed to be accessible to women. She lobbied a committee with $1,675 in leftover exposition funds, won the vote, and the Rhode Island General Assembly incorporated the school that March. What she built became the third largest art museum attached to an educational facility in the country, and a school whose alumni have collected MacArthur Fellowships, Emmy Awards, Guggenheim Fellowships, and Academy Awards.