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Beneath Thy Guiding Hand: a History of Women at the University Of

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Beneath Thy Guiding Hand: a History of Women at the University Of HISTORY OF WOMEN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE 1D1483 H64x 1994 A HISTORY OF WoMEN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE CA ROL E. HOFFECKE R RICHARDS PROFESSOR OF HISTORY & AssociATE PRovosT FOR GRADUATE STUDIES g T~TIYOF C(i;abteoj crgontents ~ 't}ffi\WARE � Copyright ©1994 . by University of Delaware Ded zcatzon. .................................... ............................... ltt Newark, Delaware Forewor,d ................................ ...................................... v . Intrad uctzon . · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · . ................................Xt Printed Chapter One in the United States of America TH E BEGINNINGS ....................................................... 1 Chapter Two REFORM..................................... .. ......... ....... ...... ....... 11 Chapter Three TH E CoLLEGE .......................................................... 31 Chapter Four 1\tlERGER................................................................... 57 Chapter Five Co-EDUCATION ......................................................... 73 c;::;:::�. ................................................................ Frontispiece: 95 U'larner Hall, the first women's residence hall, is named in Chapter Seven honor of Emalea Pusey W'tzrner (1853-1948), who championed ...... ································· ····· cause ofhigher the UNFINISHED BusiNEss 121 education for women in Delaware. End notes ................................................... ................. 139 2D07o2.8 This book is dedicated to the memOJy of three women who IJdped build the University of Delmum·e: AMY EuzABETH ou PoNT WINIFRED JosEPHINE RoBINSON EMALEA PusEY WARNER A.vrY ELIZABETH ou PoNT (1876-1 962) served on the University of Delaware Board ofTrusrees' Advisory Committee on the Wo men's College from 1939 through 1944 and was among the University's most generous benefactors. During the 1930s, she paid the salary of a fa culty member of the Wo men's College and purchased a house adjacent to the campus to serve as the residence of the dean of the Wo men's College. In 1939, she established the Unidel Foundation to enhance rhe work of the Universityof Delaware. Income fr om that fo undation has since become the University's most significant, ongoing benefaction. WINIFREDJosE PHINE RoBINSON (1867-1962) was dean of the Wo men's College from irs fo unding in 1914 until 1938. The fo rce of her character breathed life into the new and untried institution. Dean Robinson shaped every aspect of the college-from irs admissions policies and curricula to the selection of its fa culty to the structure of its residential life. In the course of her long career, she earned the respect and admiration of Delawareans and made higher education fo r women a reality in the First State. EMALEA PusEY WARNER (1853-1948), as president of the stare's Federation of Wo men's Clubs, championed the creation of the Wo men's College and thereafter made its success the central goal of a life dedicated to work on behalf of Delawareans. In 1938, she was the firstwo man selected to serve on the Board of Tr ustees of the University of Delaware. If higher education fo r women in Delaware had a fo unding mother, it was she. ltt This book should come with a warning: Once you have read it, the southwest corner of campus will never look the same to you again. That area was the site of the Wo men's College, whose original buildings were Residence Hall (now Wa rner Hall) and Science Hall (now Robinson Hall). When the Wo men's College opened in 1914, it represented hope, promise, and opportunity. Almost thirty years had passed since the end of the University's first attempt at "female education" (1872-1885), and women were looking fo rward to being able to earn college degrees in the State of Delaware once again. Unlike the Victorian-era experiment with co-education, the establishment of the Women's College led to the appointment of a substantial number of women administrators and faculty members. Its strongest advocate, Emalea Pusey Wa rner, later became the first woman member of the Board of Tr ustees. That is the good news. The bad news is that the opportunities presented by the Wo men's College were tempered by the imposition of fierce restrictions. The only academic programs available to women were Arts and Science, Education, and Home Economics. Virtually all women students who were not living with their fa milies were required to reside on campus, where Dean Winifred Robinson and her faculty enforced strict curfews and proper fe male behavior. In the early years of the Wo men's College, the dean and fa culty, like most of the students, lived in the residence hall and remained unmarried. They were also expected to ----= Beneath Thy Guiding Hand FoREwoRD acr as chaperones and to participate in group a the numerous cere ctivities rhar char monial w . e mployees w ho have been here fo r t\:venty or thirty acterized college and senwr era. Dela life for women ware College, the in rhar f r I1e c ontent o fr h'rs book is nor "h'rsto ry. "I r parr of the Un Years much o faculty tau iversity in which ' . ght male male o students, affor represents rhe persona. 1 expenences of livincr women an d men wh o to ded much greate both students a r personallibe � nd staff. r� recall a rime rhar was nor, a re� all so terribly long ago. \Y/e cannot Ir _ ' wo uld, of cour w r l1e Jntensit y with which some members se, be possible to hope un d erstand e1rher thinkin respond ro the . g, "Well, se facts by ' that's the the University c ommunrty promote chancreso in womens' ro1 es, or way the world w of . as some of tho as in those days. se arrang Bad . I wtt 1 whrch or hers rests. t those chancres,o unless we ements may soun the passron probably d to us, they wer . better than any e h ow ver. y recent 1y t h'11 1gs w ere so very diffe rent. thing women h remember things ha ad known bef . ve improved ore, and f the ear 1Y pres! 'dents were supportive o f certatn steadily since the One or two o linear n." Unfortunate notion of straig ly, rhis fo r woJnen- Wi lliam Purnell (1870-85) ft ot· htforward progre ki.nds of progress accurat ss, though app . ' e. One ealing, ' of the most imp is not example, strong I y favo red co-e d ucatton-bur like the culture as a ortant themes . Guiding Ha of Beneath t . 111 nd is the pe Thy . · a dmii1Jstrat!On. d'rd not even begll 1 to IHn I< . ndular motion whole, the UmversJty women with which the . has swung, fo status of untJ'I nel late 1960s and early 197 0 s. rward and back terms of fu II gend er equality at the U ward, in society . niversity of Del at large and d s 0 f t1I 1s peHo. d were made under t I 1e aware. For exa The firs� maJOr a vance ninete mple, although . enth-century the E. Arthur. Trabant, who, among other period of co-educ leadershtp of President wome ation did little . n as to est � ' administrators an ablish things, estab I.ts h e dt h Comm1ssron on the Status ofWomen 11 1 d faculty, it did more parity give female . with their male students response to stron. g actJvtsm on t h e par t of women students, facuI ty, counterparts tha . Women's Coll n members of . ege later enjoy the and staff. More recentl y President D avJ'd Ros elle and hrs a d mii1JS-. ed. Similarly, whe , dissolved its sep n the Universit arate college for y rrarion have ad e a concerte d e ·t to improve the climate fo r beg women after Wo � an educating rld War II and women and men women, pamcuhrly w ith re g ard to campus safety, job opporru- on its together-a decis . face, like a mo ion that looks, working ve toward greater nities, and cond'Jt IOJ�s. These initiatives have no t gone women equality- the sta . actually worsene tus of unrecognrzed outs! de th e UmversJ'ty communit y; fo r example, fo r d because many remained gender-specifi . in effect, while c practices rhe last two years, representatives o f the University have been the number of traditio women in non nal fields and in - . al the annua I nanon. al Conference on Sexua I leadership role invtted to spe <at Some s decreased. of the policies a Assault on Camp here t h e U mversJ'ty of Delaware .ts cons!'d ere. d nd practices ass �s, w College an ociated with the . d with the Women's · 111 era immediately a natronaII ea d er campus secunty P rocedures. Similarly, the 1 992 seem s following its dis . o outlandish by solution I "Women today's standard Middle States eva uatton rep orr o f t h e U mv ersJ·ty stated : dismiss s that it would . them as pheno be easy to . mena of the dim are playing substantial rol�s as c ants in decision making, the Univ and distant pas ersity's current t. Among leading one team member to o b:���:�har the campus has the best employees, how undergrad ever, are people . uates here when who were climate fo r women o f a II the insmutwns vtsJte d . " the situation for staff was qui women students . te different than and Havll 1g ha d t h e pnvJ. '1 e ge o f ch amng. the Commission on the it is now. One of this book, who them is the auth retains vivid me or of Status ofWomen fr om 1990 rhrough 1992 I am acutely aware t I1at mories of sign-o pageants, and ur books, May . � other practices Day evaluatll 1g t h e posmon o f women at t h'IS U iversity is much more that survived fro time into the m Dean Robin 1960s.
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