Papers of Bernice Brown Cronkhite, 1921-1981

Bernice Brown Cronkhite was born in Calais, Maine in 1893 and after the death of her mother in 1896, was brought up with her older brother, by her father and aunt. She attended schools in Providence, Rhode Island and following graduation from high school taught school in Tiverton for one year. She attended Radcliffe, 1912-1916, because of its course offerings in government and law and received a "distant work" scholarship because she came from a city outside of Boston. While at Radcliffe for reasons of economy, Cronkhite roomed with Louise Jackson, a portrait painter, at Studio House, 168 Brattle Street. After receiving her AB in 1916, Cronkhite continued as a part time student, for two years serving as first woman teaching assistant in Government I, and earning her AM in political science. She received a fellowship from the Carnegie Endowment for Peace in Washington, the first woman to do so, and worked for one year at Yale. She completed her studies at Radcliffe and received her Ph.D in 1920. At the instigation of President Briggs, Cronkhite spent a postgraduate year in Belgium, working on the papers of Professor Ernest Nys, the leading scholar in international law in Belgium who had recently died. From 1921-1923, under the auspices of the Women's Municipal League in Boston she started a training school for women who wanted to go into civil service positions in Massachusetts (policewomen, truant officers, sanitary inspectors etc.). In 1923 Cronkhite was appointed Dean of Radcliffe College under the Presidency of Ada Comstock. From 1934-1959 she served as Dean of the Graduate School, and was also Vice-President of Radcliffe College, from 1923-1960.