Records of Radcliffe College President Ada Louise Comstock, 1923-1943
Overview
Official Radcliffe College correspondence, reports, memoranda, etc., of Ada Louise Comstock, educator and third president of Radcliffe College.
Dates
- 1923-1943
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Unrestricted.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the records of Radcliffe College President Ada Louise Comstock is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
27.11 linear feet (64 file boxes, 1 card file box)Papers and correspondence of Comstock, arranged alphabetically by academic year, 1923-1943, with a listing of important correspondents, organizations and subjects.
BIOGRAPHY
Ada Louise Comstock, educator, was born and brought up in Moorhead, Minnesota where her father Solomon Comstock, who had moved West from Maine, was an attorney. Comstock was educated first at the University of Minnesota, then transferred to Smith College (AB 1897), received a teacher's certificate from Moorhead State College in 1898, and AM from Columbia in 1899. She was appointed Assistant in Rhetoric, then Dean of Women, 1907-1912, at the University of Minnesota, Dean of Smith College, 1912-1923, and was Radcliffe's first full-time President, 1923-1943. At Radcliffe, Comstock helped to launch the Harvard/Radcliffe agreement for joint instruction in 1943 by which Harvard took full responsibility for educational policy and the education of Radcliffe students, an important step in the institutional advancement of women at Harvard.
Comstock exemplified the active woman citizen of the post-suffrage period in the breadth of her activities. She was the only woman member of President Hoover's Commission of Law Observance and Enforcement, 1929-1931, and signed the minority report which recommended revision of the eighteenth amendment. She was a member of the Institute of Pacific Relations, actively encouraged the development of women's higher education in Japan and China, a member of the League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood and the National Broadcasting Company, to name but a few of her associations.
She was a national and international spokesman on education (in recognition of which she received 14 honorary degrees, including those of Harvard and Oxford). She was President of the American Association of University Women, a leader of the Seven College Conference and on the boards of many schools (Buckingham, Concord Academy, Wykeham Rise, Brimmer and May) and colleges (Bennington, Smith, Simmons). On her retirement as Radcliffe's President in 1943, Comstock married Wallace Notestein Professor of English History emeritus, of Yale College, and embarked on a new career as faculty wife, in New Haven.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was received from the Radcliffe College President's Office ca.1956.
SEPARATION RECORD
Radcliffe College printed material and material about alumnae has been removed to the Vertical file of Radcliviana and the alumnae biographical files. Photographs have been removed to the photograph files. Non-Radcliffe publications and duplicate material have been weeded and returned to the relevant institutions.
CONTAINER LIST
- Box 1: 1-9
- Box 2: 10-19
- Box 3: 20-27
- Box 4: 28-34
- Box 5: 35-39
- Box 6: 40-50
- Box 7: 51-66
- Box 8: 67-76
- Box 9: 77-84
- Box 10: 85-92
- Box 11: 93-98
- Box 12: 99-105
- Box 13: 106-115
- Box 14: 116-124
- Box 15: 125-133
- Box 16: 134-143
- Box 17: 144-153
- Box 18: 154-163
- Box 19: 164-173
- Box 20: 174-183
- Box 21: 184-191
- Box 22: 192-201
- Box 23: 202-210
- Box 24: 211-221
- Box 25: 222-231
- Box 26: 232-239
- Box 27: 240-248
- Box 28: 249-259
- Box 29: 260-269
- Box 30: 270-278
- Box 31: 279-290
- Box 32: 291-299
- Box 33: 300-310
- Box 34: 311-319
- Box 35: 320-330
- Box 36: 331-338
- Box 37: 339-348
- Box 38: 349-356
- Box 39: 357-364
- Box 40: 365-372
- Box 41: 373-379
- Box 42: 380-388
- Box 43: 389-398
- Box 44: 399-406
- Box 45: 407-417
- Box 46: 418-427
- Box 47: 428-437
- Box 48: 438-445
- Box 49: 446-454
- Box 50: 455-464
- Box 51: 465-472
- Box 52: 473-482
- Box 53: 483-490
- Box 54: 491-498
- Box 55: 499-508
- Box 56: 509-519
- Box 57: 522-529
- Box 58: 530-537
- Box 59: 538-544
- Box 60: 545-552
- Box 61: 553-561
- Box 62: 562-571
- Box 63: 572-578
- Box 64: 579-586
- Card file box 65: Teacher's Oaths
INDEX
Index to Comstock's correspondence, alphabetically arranged by name, subject or title of organization.
- Academic Board 149, 194, 239, 389, 444, 500, 545
- Academic Freedom, Committee on 455
- Admission of Women to: School of Public Health 267; Harvard Medical School 563
- Admissions 288, 404, 444, 547
- Agassiz, Elizabeth Cary 31
- Agassiz, Mrs. George 149
- Alice Stone Blackwell Fund 396
- Allen, Judge Florence 445
- Alumnae Association, Radcliffe 63, 150, 194, 240, 390, 403, 547
- American Alumni Council 346
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences 545
- American Association for the Advancement of Science 127
- American Association of University Professors 63, 393
- American Association of University Women 1, 64, 127, 150, 194, 291, 390, 445, 501 547
- American Birth Control, League 66, 292, 396
- American Civil Liberties Union 195, 446
- American Committee for Christian German Refugees 292
- American Council on Education 151, 195, 241, 341, 346, 502, 547
- American Historical Society 66, 151
- American Home Economics Association 67
- American Legion 195
- American Philosophical Society 196
- American School of Classical Studies 347
- American Women's Association 12, 127, 151, 545
- Ames, Georgiana see also Hinckley 20
- Ames, Lucy (Stetson) 151, 348
- Anderson, Mary 437, 447
- Appointment Bureau, 151, 242, 285, 293, 348, 393, 447, 502
- Associated Actors 196
- Association of American Colleges 68, 293
- Association of Bank Women 293
- Association to Aid Women in S cientific Research 1, 12, 20, 28, 68
- Associates, see also Board of Trustees and Trustees 67
- Athens Hostel 1, 20, 29
- Bacon, George Wood 242
- Baker, Christine Hopkinson 2, 12, 69, 128, 152, 294, 349, 394
- Baker, Ezra, 117
- Baker, George 82
- Baker, George Pierce 2, 137
- Barker, Granville 446
- Beaux, Cecilia 128
- Beaver Country Day School 447
- Beers, Clifford 21
- Bennington College 12, 30, 350
- Berlin, Florence 152
- Birth Control League of Massachusetts 350
- Black Students at Harvard 10; at Radcliffe 271
- Blackall, Dorothy (Brewer) 351, 395, 448, 505, 550
- Blackwell, Alice Stone 448
- Board of Trustees, see Trustees
- Bolton, Charles Knowles 295
- Book Mobile 31
- Boston Evening Transcript 106
- Boston School of Physical Education 4
- Boulanger, Nadia 244, 254, 351
- Briggs, Elizabeth 244
- Briggs, LeBaron Russell 4, 128, 155, 245
- Briggs, Lucia Russell (see also Milwaukee-Downer College) 197, 472
- Briggs Hall 3, 4
- Brimmer and May School 397, 505, 550
- Brown University 128
- Bryn Mawr College 198, 351, 397, 505
- Buckingham, Mary Hyde 347, 449
- Buckingham School 153, 245, 296, 352, 398, 449
- Budget Committee 129, 153, 550
- Building Plans 8, 78, 224
- Buildings and Grounds 153
- Bureau of International Research 5, 22, 31, 72, 95, 99, 103, 104, 107, 129 154, 199, 246, 296, 352, 398, 499, 505
- Bureau of International Travel 200
- Bureau of University Travel 107, 247, 297, 353, 399, 450, 505
- Business Office 130, 201, 297, 354, 399, 450, 505, 550
- Byerly, William Elwood 31, 107, 201, 297
- Byerly, Mrs. William E. 130
- Cabot, Ella (Lyman) 131, 156, 298, 335, 355
- Cabot, Richard Clarke 298, 355, 508
- Cabot, Judge Frederick Pickering 6
- Cambridge Historical Society 249
- Cambridge Hospital League 298
- Cambridge Industrial Association 249
- Cambridge League of Women Voters, see LWV-Cambridge
- Cambridge School of Architecture 249, 298
- Cannon, Cornelia (James) 355
- Cannon, Walter 355
- Carnegie Corporation, 14, 100, 105
- Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching 105, 131, 156, 298
- Catholic Students 289
- Cedar Hill Conference 356, 401, 551
- Chicago Exposition 131
- China 356, 401, 410, 451, 509
- China Institute 356, 551
- Chinese students 534
- China, North East Committee for Relief in 299
- Choral Society 23, 52, 95, 100, 108, 132, 156, 207, 250, 300 356, 428, 452, 509, 552
- Cite Universitaire, Paris 132
- Coe, Edith M 357
- College Club 462
- College Entrance Examination Board 15, 133, 157, 203, 251, 300, 357, 402, 453, 510
- Columbus Memorial Lighthouse 301
- Commencement 108, 134, 158, 204, 252, 302, 358, 403, 454 511, 554
- Commission to Study the Organization of Peace 404
- Committee on Cultural Relations with Latin America 205, 253, 303, 404
- Committee on Resources 100, 108, 134, 205
- Committee on Retiring Allowances 253
- Committee on Standards 74
- Committee on Tuition Fees 253, 358, 404
- Comstock, Ada Louise: Biography: 126, 242, 253, 563; Honorary Degrees: 128, 221; Schedules: 194, 205, 253, 486; Speeches, articles: 106, 119, 186, 194, 221, 229, 264, 278, 330 345, 359, 372, 377, 427, 443, 452, 458, 472, 481, 509, 515, 552, 574; Resignation: 554, 584
- Comstock, Susan 303
- Conant, James Bryant 109, 303
- Conant, Kenneth 298
- Concord Academy 253, 555
- Concordia College 303
- Conference of Christians and Jews, National, 422
- Conference of Radcliffe representatives 429
- Coolidge, Elizabeth (Sprague) 254, 304
- Coolidge, Thomas Jefferson 15
- Cooperative Bureau of Women Teachers 23, 135
- Coordinate Colleges 304
- Cosmopolitan Club 254
- Council, Radcliffe 206, 255, 359, 456, 513, 556
- Council against Intolerance in America 359
- Cronkhite, Bernice (Brown) 135, 160, 205, 206, 306
- Cryptanalysis 529
- Czechs 360
- Dan, Lydia Shao-Lan AM 42, PhD 44 457
- Dance Group 514
- Daniels, Mabel Wheeler 6, 75, 160, 256, 571
- Davis, Hallie Flanagan 514
- Davis, Herbert John 487
- Davison, Archibald T. 160, 207, 514
- Dean, Vera Michelis 136, 161, 256, 514, 557
- Deanship, Radcliffe 360
- DeCordova bequest 23
- DeCordova, Julian 23
- DeWindt, Alice 306
- Dodd, Ora M 361
- Drinking, undergraduate 267, 335
- Earhart, Amelia 109
- East and West Association 518, 558
- East Indies Institute of America Inc. 515
- Eastman, Rebecca Hooper 308
- Economic Policy Committee 308, 361
- Edwards, Marion Park (see also Bryn Mawr) 351
- Eliot, Martha May 366, 515
- Elwell and Blackall 3
- Emergency Peace Campaign 257
- Emigres 346
- Endowment and Equipment Fund 6, 16, 429
- Etcetera 515
- Farley, Caroline Amelia 162
- Fay, Charles Norman 558
- Federal Emergency Relief Administration 162, 209
- Felton, Mrs. Cornelius Conway 110
- Fine Arts Building 13
- Finnish Relief 467
- Fish, Frederick 516
- Follett, Mary Parker, 131, 137, 138
- Foreign Policy Association 258, 362, 459
- Foreign Students 186
- Forty Seven Club 77, 137, 147, 163, 189
- Forty Seven Workshop 16
- Forum, Radcliffe 428
- Frankfurter, Felix 77, 209, 363, 454, 460, 558
- Friends of Music Association 258
- Fund Committee 100
- Gallison, Marie 138, 461
- Gaposchkin, Cecilia (Payne) 119, 381
- General Education Board 78, 96, 100, 164, 310
- Geneva School of International Studies 164
- Germany 363, 364
- Gilman, Stella Scott 79
- Ginling College, China 310, 461, 474
- Ginn, Susan 138
- Graduate Center, 13, 100, 138
- Graduate School, Radcliffe 138, 259, 560
- Graduate school, statutes 147
- Gray, Francis Calley 161, 210, 259, 409, 517, 560
- Greene, Mrs. Henry Copley 364
- Guggenheim Foundation 210, 364, 517, 560
- Gymnasium 7
- Hadow, Grace 273, 364
- Hall, Constance 364
- Hardy, Harriet Louise 365, 518, 562
- Harkness, Edward 79, 96, 100
- Harvard Dramatic Club 165
- Harvard/Radcliffe relationship 563
- Harvard Teacher's Association 166
- Harvard University 17, 100, 112, 139, 166, 212-215, 261, 312 365, 412, 464, 519, 562, 563
- Health Center 465, 506, 520, 564
- Health Education, Dept. of 262, 312, 366, 465, 520, 564
- Hemenway, Harriet L. 518
- Henry, Richard Kirk - Superintendent of Building and Grounds 366
- Hill, Grace A. 264
- Higginson, Ida 17
- Honorary degrees 82
- Hoover, Herbert 80
- Hoover, Mrs. Herbert 80
- Housing 321
- Howe, Helen 367
- Hull, Cordell 367
- Idler Club 314, 367, 413
- Immigration 9
- Institute for Consumer Education 298
- Institute of History of Science and Civilisation 278
- Institute of International Education 17, 314, 368, 414, 466
- Institute of Pacific Relations 147, 168, 216, 265, 315, 368, 414 467, 522
- Institute of Women's Professional Relations 169
- Intercollegiate Music League 316
- International Institute for Girls in Spain 316, 468
- International Federation of University Women 24, 217, 316
- International Student Service 415
- Irwin, Agnes 128
- James, William 169
- Japan 317, 356, 401 410, 468
- Japan Society 266, 416
- Jewish Students 289, 567
- Jordan, Frances (Ruml) 113, 369, 468
- Jordan, Wilbur Kitchener 369, 523, 567
- Junior Month 113, 170
- Keller, Helen 114, 266
- Kitchen and Dining Room Committee 171, 218, 318
- Kobe College, Japan 18, 82, 114, 140, 172, 219, 266, 318, 320, 416, 523
- Koussetvitsky, Sergei 469
- Laski, Harold 370
- Lawrence, Bishop 82
- Leach, Abby 115
- League for Women in Public Office 219
- League of Nations 219
- League of Women Voters-Cambridge 249
- League of Women Voters-Mass 174, 220, 320
- League of Women Voters-National 271, 324, 373, 423, 476, 529
- Lee, Frances 115
- Library 267, 319
- Library-Committee and correspondence with Librarian 115, 173, 219, 370, 372, 418, 524
- Littauer School 267
- Longfellow House/Hall 96, 101, 222
- Lowell, Abott, Lawrence 10, 13, 19, 24, 59, 82
- Lowell, Amy 10
- Lowes, John W 101, 219
- Lowthrope School of Landscape Architecture 267
- McBride, Katherine Elizabeth 320, 351, 360, 364, 371, 420, 505, 525, 533, 571
- McCord, David 320
- McGeachy, M. Craig 569
- Mack Fund 268
- Management Training Program in Personnel Administration 393
- Marks, Josephine Peabody 471
- Mason, Fanny Peabody 471
- Massachusetts Advisory Board, Dept. of Education 527, 570
- Massachusetts League of Women Voters-See LWV-Mass
- Master School of Music Association 116
- Masters of Arts in Teaching 268, 278
- Maginnis, Alice 320
- Meckstroth, Bertha Amelia, '06 175, 269, 372, 421
- Medical School, Harvard 563
- Mental Hygiene-see National Committee for Mental Hygiene
- Menzel, Donald 529
- Metcalf, Margaret Carter 269, 321
- Milwaukee Downer College 569
- Minnesota, University of 221, 472, 516
- Mitchell, Stewart 569
- Moors, John Farwell 10, 32, 117, 175, 222, 322, 372, 473
- Moral Rearmament 381
- Morand, Ruth 569
- Morison, Samuel Eliot 175, 255
- Morning Prayers 222, 270, 372, 421, 473, 526, 571
- Morrow, Elizabeth 474
- Morss, Henry Adams 222
- Munich Summer Courses 175
- Murdock, Kenneth 372
- Music Club, Radcliffe 430
- National Academy of Sciences 422
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 572
- National Association of Deans of Women 271, 373
- National Broadcasting Co. 148, 176, 223, 323, 373, 422, 529, 573
- National Committee for Mental Hygiene 176, 373, 422, 572
- National Consumers League 373
- National Council on Radio in Education 183
- National Recreation Association 373
- National Rededication Week 373
- National Society of New England Women 374
- Naval communications 529
- Navy, U.S. (Women's Reserve Corps) 529, 530, 573
- Negroes, see Black Students
- Neilson, William Allen 59, 324, 382, 475; see also Smith College
- New, Mrs. W.S. 569, 572
- New Buildings 224
- New England Association of Colleges and Schools 325, 424
- New England Women's Press Association 374
- Newnham College, Cambridge 374
- New School for Social Research 424, 476
- New York World's Fair 374
- Nominating Committee 224
- Nursing 471
- Opening of College 143, 425
- Oxford University 325
- Park, Maud Wood 425
- Parkman, Frances 478
- Paton, Lucy 132
- Pendleton, Ellen F 34
- Perry Shaw and Hepburn 8
- Peter Bent Brigham School of Nursing 326, 575
- Phi Beta Kappa 119, 143, 179, 180, 225, 226, 274, 327, 376, 426, 479, 532, 575
- Physical Education 534
- President's Committee 434, 480
- Progressive Education Association 181
- Progressive Schools 120
- Pro Tem 574
- Protestant Students 289
- Publicity Department 182, 227, 328, 427, 429, 480, 532, 575
- Query Club 227
- Radcliffe, Ann (Lady Mowlson) 152
- Radcliffe Clubs 121, 235, 256, 276, 329, 377, 428, 482, 534, 577
- Radcliffe, History and description 38, 106, 122, 144, 151, 310, 321, 391, 572
- Radcliffe Presidency-Search Committee 555
- Radio Institute of the Public Arts 183
- Refugees, German and other 377, 430
- Regional Scholarships 144, 184
- Religious Activities 121
- Representation, Radcliffe 184, 228, 277, 378, 431, 483, 577
- Rochester, University of 229, 332
- Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor (Roosevelt) 532, 576
- Russell Sage College 379
- Russell, Bertrand 432
- Salaries 336
- Sarah Lawrence College 333
- Sarton, Dr. George 333, 278
- Sarton, May 145, 185, 196, 469
- Scholarships 25, 185, 230, 278
- Schumpeter, Elizabeth (Boody) 333, 380, 535
- Science Building 11, 89, 96, 102, 107, 122; see also Byerly Hall
- Science Club 122
- Science courses, women in 102
- Science instructors 535
- Semi-Centennial Celebration 51-62
- Seven College Conference 26, 36, 37, 90, 102, 123, 146, 186, 231 278, 334, 381, 434, 486, 537, 579-80
- Shapley, Harlow 381
- Sherman, Mildred Percival 538, 581
- Sherman, Rose 91
- Simmons College 581
- Smeltzer, Jeanne Ringland 38
- Smith, Hilda Worthington 335
- Smith College 27, 187, 188, 232, 279, 335, 382, 435, 487, 538, 581
- Stantial, Edna 383, 396, 425, 485
- Stanwood Louise R 147, 189
- Statistics, Radcliffe 189, 233, 383, 436
- Stebbins, Lucy Ward 485, 578
- Stein, Gertrude 142, 144, 189
- Stimson, Dorothy 383
- Stone, Lucy 383
- Student Government Association 124
- Student Health Service 366
- Students: statistics college experience 436; graduate employment 504
- Summer Secretarial Course 447
- Switzer, Mary Elizabeth 437, 485
- Tamblyn and Brown 40-45, 282
- Tarbell, Ida 92, 97
- Teachers' Oaths 438
- Thomas, Georgine (Holmes) 384, 489
- Tozzer, Alfred 384
- Treat, Priscilla (Gough) 271
- Trustees 148, 283, 339, 385, 439, 482, 490, 539, 584; see also Associates
- Tuchman, Barbara (Wertheim) 386
- Tuesday Morning Club 385
- Tuition and Scholarships 185, 490, 515
- Tutorial-Radcliffe 583
- United Women of the World Broadcasts 569
- Valentine, Alan 229, 332
- Van Waters, Miriam 284
- War, emergency plans 506, 585
- War, Harvard Group 493-497
- War Service Committee 542
- Wedgewood China-Radcliffe 156
- Western Reserve University 341
- Wheaton College 285, 342
- White, Helen Constance 541
- Whitehead, T. North 285
- Whitman, Sarah Wyman 471
- Wilby Prize 126, 192, 285, 342, 387, 498, 543, 586
- Wilk, Jacob 285
- Winsor School 193
- Winthrop Ames Memorial Lecture 348, 446, 502
- Wolbach, Anna (Wellington) 98, 342, 443
- Woman's Centennial Congress 443
- Women's College Board 237
- Women's Education 557
- Women's Educational and Industrial Union 285
- Women's Educational Association 126
- Women's Scholarship Association 285, 541
- Women-careers of 280
- Women in Science 443
- Women in the War 578
- Woo, Siohan Chiu '19 387
- Woodworth, George Wallace 116, 126, 148, 286
- World Center for Women's Archives 286, 343, 443, 448
- World Peaceways 238
- World Student Association 388
- World Youth 238
- Wunder, Suzanne 148, 286, 328, 343, 388
- Wyatt, Dorothea 286
- Wykeham Rise School 238, 343
- Young, Owen 148
- Zemurray, Doris 388
Processing Information
Reprocessed: June 1981
By: Jane S. Knowles
- American Council on Education
- Cabot, Ella Lyman
- Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978
- Educators
- Frankfurter, Felix, 1882-1965
- Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964
- Irwin, Agnes, 1841-1914
- Keller, Helen, 1880-1968
- Lowell, A. Lawrence (Abbott Lawrence), 1856-1943
- Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia, 1900-1979
- Radcliffe College--Students
- Radcliffe College. Alumnae Association
- Seven Colleges Conference
- Van Waters, Miriam
- Title
- Comstock, Ada Louise. Records of Radcliffe College President Ada Louise Comstock, 1923-1943: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Radcliffe College Archives, Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch00395
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.