“The approach to science topics in the WISE suite helps to situate scientific investigations to real world problems, helping students to understand not only the beauty but also the utility of science. With these opportunities comes the hope that more of our youngsters will learn to appreciate the wonder of science.”
—From the Foreword by Carol D. Lee, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University

"By examining the origins and ‘ambiguous legacy’ of the dean of women role, this fine history provides a long-needed and important reinterpretation of women’s entry in the academy. Nidiffer makes a particularly keen contribution to the literature on professionalization: She shows how the dean of women position exemplifies higher education’s tendency to create professional roles to deal with new and unconventional populations that appear on campus."

–Linda Eisenmann, University of Massachusetts, Boston

"In the end, Nidiffer’s book is not merely an account of the efforts, successes, and setbacks of women deans. It is an analysis of how they developed a profession out of their dedication to making universities in the twentieth century better places for women than they were in the nineteenth century. The time has come for their story to be told within the larger history of higher education."

–From the Foreword by Mary Ann Dzuback

The "collective biography" of the first deans of women contained in these pages provides both a compelling illumination of women’s history and an explanation of the rise of certain professions within university structures. This book is not only interesting, it is germane to current debates about the roles of women in higher education.