"This richly biographical study of four deans of women in the South sends a clear message for today: A forceful senior voice on behalf of women on campus is still needed."

–Elizabeth Pleck, University of Illinois, Champaign

"Carolyn Bashaw’s well-researched and original study adds an important and fresh perspective to the scholarly literature on women in the educating professions.

–Lynn D. Gordon, University of Rochester

This innovative study provides a close examination of the accomplishments of four women who served as Deans of Women in co-educational institutions, a once crucial but now defunct role. Focusing on Southern colleges rather than traditionally elite institutions, the author begins with each woman’s retirement and looks back at their fascinating lives of achievement, spirit, and strength. She explores how these pioneers influenced the quality of women’s lives on campus by facing such challenges as the Great Depression and the lack of athletic and housing facilities for female students. Moreover, Bashaw reveals how these deans were concerned with the lives of women beyond the classroom and sought to prepare their students for enriched lives after college. These compelling portraits are based on personal letters, anecdotes, and archives that allow Bashaw to draw new conclusions that shake the dust from previously held notions about the function of women in university administration. With appeal to those in the fields of Women’s History, Southern History, and the History of Education, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, this ground-breaking volume illuminates the enduring impact and legacy of the female dean.