By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

March 19, 2017 marked the death of 85-year-old educator, scholar and historian Mary Maples Dunn. She is regarded as, “… a champion for women- and women’s history” according to Smith College.

Dunn did her graduate work in U.S. colonial history at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and began teaching there as she worked to complete her Ph.D. Her career at the women’s liberal arts college was extensive. Among other positions she held, Dunn took on the role of Dean in 1978, and ultimately became Academic Deputy to the president in 1981.

From 1985 until 1995 Dunn served as Smith College’s eighth president. During her time at Smith, she faced multiple challenges but left a positive impact by the end of her presidency.

The Smith College Archives note that the time of Dunn’s presidency was, “… an economically troubled period for the college. Campus diversity, internal communication flow, and socially responsible investment were also significant issues.”

Dunn’s hard work at Smith paid off: she helped the women’s college raise more than $300 million during her time there, which helped allow the opening of the Bass Science Center and the Young Science Library on campus. Five majors were added to the curriculum as well as the improvement of on and off campus communications. Her tenure at Smith saw the introduction of the internet, email and voicemail on campus as part of her process of getting Smith on the “Information Highway,” explains the Smith College Archives.

Approaching retirement in 1995, Dunn stated that, “… it’s true that acquiring budgetary accountability is among my most important achievements, but I hope I’ll be remembered as a president who helped open the college up to a more diverse population,” according to Grécourt Gate, Smith College news.

The New York Times reports that her work in diversity at Smith was partially prompted by a number of racist incidents that had occurred on campus. Following those incidents, Dunn’s administration instilled a number of programs, one of the most notable being the 1988 Smith Design for Institutional Diversity.

“By the time she stepped down in 1995, minority enrollment had risen to 571 from 342, out of a student body of about 2,800. And minority representation on the faculty had increased by about six teaching positions,” the New York Times stated.

The programs primarily dealt with race, but also touched on derogatory language, race and physical disabilities as noted in the Smith College Archives, adding, “… Dunn maintained a cheerful image and a sense of humor throughout, and persevered through the trials of her difficult position.”

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu