Name
Mary Maples Dunn
Position
President of Smith College
Years Active
1985-1995
About Me
Mary Maples Dunn was president during a tumultuous time for the college. During Dunn’s presidency, she saw the college through many economic hardships, and therefore, a majority of Dunn’s tenure was focused on increasing the college’s endowment.
Effect on the Ada Class
Dunn’s effect on the Ada Class was impactful and detrimental. Dunn saw drastic cuts to the Ada Comstock Scholars Program in financial aid, housing, and class population. In 1990, Dunn made the decision to re-appropriate Dewey House, then Ada housing, into faculty offices1, creating a vaccum and urgent need for new Ada housing. In 1988, Dunn decided to cap the Ada Class population at 10%,2 but then began steadily cutting admissions until 1994 when Dunn also cut financial aid and the class admissions, resulting in the Rally for Adas on April 28, 1994.3
Footnotes
- Dewey house, 1990. Box 18. CA-MS-01052 and Ada Comstock Scholars Program records, Smith College Special Collections, Smith College Archives, Northampton, Massachusetts. ↩
- Ada Comstock Program, 1975. Box 132, Folder 11. CA-MS-00071 and Office of the President Jill Ker Conway Files. Smith College Special Collections, Smith College Archives, Northampton, Massachusetts. ↩
- Ada Comstock Scholars cuts protests, 1990s. Box 3023. CA-MS-00317 and Student Demonstrations collection. Smith College Special Collections, Smith College Archives, Northampton, Massachusetts. ↩