SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1436 



in colleges and universities not exclusively for 

 women students. But here an important con- 

 sideration has also been the inability of Bryn 

 Mawr untU recently to compete with better en- 

 dowed institutions for teachers desired by both. 

 It is amazing that Bryn Mawr has been able to 

 ereate and to maintain such high academic 

 standards upon an endowment so slender. It 

 is this success which has furnished the strong- 

 est possible appeal to her alumnse and other 

 benefactors of education, who have responded 

 so generously in recent years in increasing her 

 resources. But her needs stUl are and will con- 

 tinue to be great, and the record of benefits to 

 women's education and thereby to mankind 

 here to be obtained in a measure out of all 

 proportion to the money invested will continue 

 to make its strong, public appeal. 



But the most interesting and in many ways 

 the most important conclusion to be drawn from 

 the circumstance that here women teachers stay, 

 whereas so many men leave to join the faculties 

 of other colleges, is that desirable positions in 

 these other colleges and universities, including 

 the coeducational ones, are open to women in 

 so small number as to be practically negligible. 

 This lack of wider recognition of their work by 

 academic promotion deprives women in large 

 measure of one of the most powerful incentives 

 and highest rewards of productive scholarly 

 and scientific work. Among other reasons I 

 find in this situation, which is not likely soon 

 to be remedied, a compelling argument in favor 

 of the existence and generous support of inde- 

 pendent women's colleges in spite of the high 

 cost. Unquestionably coeducation is the best 

 solution of the problem of professional and 

 technical education for women, and even for 

 their collegiate training it will continue to be 

 the prevailing system throughout the larger 

 part of this country, particularly in the west, 

 but experience has abundantly demonstrated the 

 need and special services of separate under- 

 graduate colleges for women, and among the 

 most valuable of these services I count the 

 opening of attractive academic careers to 

 women. Bryn Mawr has shown also the value 

 of adding, when it can be properly supported, 

 a graduate philosophical department, meeting 

 especially the needs of prospective teachers and 

 of workers in the field of social economics. 



Bryn Mawr from the start laid still further 

 emphasis upon high academic standards and 

 productive scientific work and made an addi- 

 tional important contribution to the educa- 

 tional and research opportunities for women by 

 the establishment of her system of resident 

 fellowships and scholarships, open to graduates 

 of all colleges of good standing, supplemented 

 later by European traveling fellowships and 

 the nine graduate scholarships for foreign 

 women. Thereby the reputation and influence 

 of Bryn Mawr both here and abroad have been 

 greatly increased and extended. The presence 

 of so many graduate students — ninety-two in 

 the academic year now closing — engaged in ad- 

 vanced work has stimulated the intellectual Ufe 

 of the entire college and their example and the 

 opportunities have led many to pursue their 

 studies beyond the college period. There have 

 thus been afilorded to members of the faculty 

 welcome opportunities for graduate teaching 

 and the conduct of research which has led to 

 valuable contributions to knowledge. 



It is everywhere conceded that the Bryn 

 Mawr degree of doctor of philosophy equals 

 in rank that granted by any university in this 

 country. One has only to examine in the reg- 

 ister the lists of the ninety doctors of philoso- 

 phy and ithe one hundred and sixty-five mas- 

 ters of arts of Bryn Mawr and to note their 

 names and the positions which they hold or 

 have held, predominantly in the teaching pro- 

 fession, in order to gain some appreciation of 

 the immense service to education rendered by 

 the graduate courses in this college and the 

 system of fellowships and scholarships. 



Permit me to quote the fine tribute paid to 

 this feature of Bryn Mawr at the twenty-fifth 

 anniversary by President Taylor of Vassar 

 College, the first in the field of independent 

 women's colleges of truly collegiate standing: 

 "As I have regarded her career with intense 

 interest from the point of view of a fellow 

 worker since her second year, I am disposed to 

 suggest as among her chief contributions, first, 

 the splendid emphasis she has put upon ad- 

 vanced scholarship for women. I think her 

 fine devotion of so large a part of her income 

 to fellowships and scholarships perhaps with- 

 out parallel in our country. It has been a 

 steadfast devotion, too, untouched by the con- 



