The JKM Library Blog

January 2018

The Chatham University Archives invites you to explore Chatham Leadership: The Presidency of Cora Helen Coolidge, an exploration of a president whose ceaseless dedication to women’s education steered Chatham through one of its most tumultuous chapters. Presented as an extension of Chatham Leadership: A Presidential Timeline, this exhibit aims to convey both the impact Coolidge had on Chatham as well as the profound and indelible impression she had on the lives of students from her era. The exhibit is on view in the lounge of the Women’s Institute in Braun Hall, and we encourage your to stop by and explore the legacy of President Coolidge. Pennsylvania College for Women President Cora Helen Coolidge Cora Helen Coolidge was born on December 6, 1866 in Westminster, Massachusetts to Ellen Drusilla Coolidge and Frederick Spaulding Coolidge. Her father, distantly related to Calvin Coolidge, was the first democratic congressman from Massachusetts. Her brother, Marcus Allen Coolidge, was mayor of Fitchburg, Massachusetts prior to his election to the U.S. Senate. A learned family, the Coolidges frequently discussed the works and philosophies of Thoreau, Emerson, and other transcendentalists during supper, and Cora was made to read the Bible, English literature, history, and politics. Miss Coolidge’s father, Frederick Spaulding Coolidge. C.M. Bell, photographer. Hon. F.S. Coolidge , 1891. [between January and January 1894] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/ Upon graduating from the Cushing Academy in 1887, Coolidge attended Smith College, a private women’s liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she received a Bachelor of Laws. During the following summers, Coolidge took classes at the University of Chicago and the University of Gottingen in Germany. Portrait of Miss Coolidge, 1897 Fitchburg Historical Society Fitchburg, Massachusetts www.fitchburghistoricalsociety.org Coolidge came to the Pennsylvania College for Women (PCW, and now Chatham University) in 1906 as President Henry Drennan Lindsay’s hand-picked successor to Miss Elizabeth Eastman, the former dean of the college. At the time of her hiring, Coolidge had developed the reputation as a strong public lecturer on the subject of English literature and the adept and personable vice-principal of the Cushing Academy, her alma mater, in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. After arriving in Pittsburgh, Coolidge continued giving public lectures about women’s education and her two favorite authors—Robert Browning and Robert Louis Stevenson—to clubs, church groups, and other educators. Coolidge was active in several of these clubs and groups, including the American Association of University Women, Pittsburgh Colony of New England Women, Twentieth Century Club, Women’s City Club, and Monday Luncheon Club (click here to learn about the Monday Luncheon Club through records held at the Heinz History Center). In 1908, Coolidge founded the College Club, an association of female graduates to socialize and pursue common interests in education, science, and humanities. Luncheon at P.C.W. for Jane Addams, 1908 (Addams second from left, Coolidge third from right) Following the sudden death of President Lindsay from pneumonia in 1914, Coolidge was chosen to serve as the acting president of the college prior to Dr. John Carey Acheson’s election in 1915. Coolidge served as dean until she was appointed in 1917 to be President of the National Committee of the Bureau of Occupations, a war-time committee engaged under governmental authority to find jobs for women. Before accepting the position, Coolidge was awarded a Doctor of Literature by PCW. In addition to her wartime work with the Bureau of Occupations, Coolidge was highly active executive secretary of a Red Cross branch that included Fitchburg, Massachusetts and ten other towns. World War I Volunteer Clerical Corps., Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 1918 Fitchburg Historical Society, Fitchburg, Massachusetts www.fitchburghistoricalsociety.org After the resignation of Dr. Acheson as president of PCW in 1922, Coolidge was asked by the Board of Trustees to assume the position of president. Acutely aware of the college’s precarious financial position, Coolidge proclaimed, “I’ll come back to Pennsylvania College for Women if you mean business, but I won’t come back to bury it.” Reasonably satisfied with the seriousness of the board’s attitude, Coolidge accepted the position with the intent of solving the college’s financial woes by establishing an endowment of one million dollars. Additionally, Coolidge sought to raise five hundred thousand dollars for equipment and buildings and to boost the reputation of the college to match those of nation’s best universities. A clipping of an interview published in 1922, the day after Miss Cora Helen Coolidge arrived in Pittsburgh to become president of the Pennsylvania College for Women. To realize her ambitions, Coolidge spearheaded an intensive fundraising campaign. Along with courting wealthy philanthropists within the city of Pittsburgh, the college conducted a thorough search to locate five hundred Pittsburgh-area alumnae and an additional twelve hundred former students living in thirty-six states and six foreign countries. In cities in which five or more alumnae were living, fundraising dinners were held. The largest fundraising dinner, held at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, was attended by over 1,000 guests, including Madame Louise Homer, the daughter of Dr. William T. Beatty, one of the founders of the college in 1869. A proposal for the distribution of the one-million-dollar endowment. Although the original goal of the one-million-dollar endowment fund was not met, the profile of the college rose appreciably, and enough funds were generated to expand Woodland Hall and construct the Buhl Hall of Science, the James Laughlin Memorial Library, and a heating plant. President Coolidge and three great-great grandchildren of James Laughlin (Left-to-right: Elizabeth Laughlin, Henrietta Laughlin, and Mary Laughlin) break ground on the James Laughlin Memorial Library in spring 1931. A drawn map of the Pennsylvania College for Women’s campus before the construction of Buhl Hall and the James Laughlin Memorial Library. During her time as president, Coolidge engendered a feeling of warmth and intimacy between the office of the presidency and the student body. Her home atop Woodland Road was open to all students who wished to discuss with Coolidge any conceivable subject related to the college, academics, or their personal lives. To further establish familial bonds, Coolidge frequently hosted meetings and parties within her home, open to any member of the college community. In the final months of her presidency, Coolidge retreated from public life as she slowly succumbed to a long-term illness. On March 12, 1933, Miss Cora Helen Coolidge died with her brother by her bedside. Coolidge bequeathed $5,000 and 316 of her books to the PCW, and $1,000 to support scholarships at Smith College, Cushing Academy, and the Smith College Club of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. A program for the memorial services held on April 30, 1933, in honor of Miss Coolidge. As PCW grew through the years, changing its name to Chatham in the 1950s, the influence of Cora Helen Coolidge was never forgotten. When the main academic building of her era, Berry Hall, was replaced with a new academic quad , the new humanities hall was named in her honor. Detail of Program for the dedication of Braun, Falk, Coolidge Halls, May 2, 1954. Cora Helen Coolidge’s impact on Chatham University and the Pittsburgh region cannot be overstated. Her guiding hand led the Pennsylvania College to create the country’s first college program on social work and her steady perseverance allowed the school to grow during one of the nation’s most economically trying times. As we continue to welcome Chatham’s newest President, Dr. David Finegold, and reflect on the past leaders who’ve shaped the development of this community, the achievements of Cora Helen Coolidge remain a timeless inspiration. For more information on Cora Helen Coolidge or other leaders in Chatham history, we encourage you to reach out to the Chatham University Archives & Special Collections in the JKM Library.  

October 2017

The Chatham University Archives invites you to explore Chatham Leadership: A Presidential Timeline, a chronology and account of the remarkable individuals who
have shaped Chatham and made it the institution it is today.
President Spencer Inauguration, 1935
Founded in 1869 by Reverend William Trimble Beatty and supporters from the Shadyside Presbyterian Church, the Pennsylvania Female College actualized the growing
sentiment of the times that women—and therefore society—benefited intellectually, socially, and morally from a liberal arts education that had commonly been limited to men.
Rather than offering courses in needlework, china painting, and English, as other women’s schools in Pittsburgh had throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the
Pennsylvania Female College offered courses in astronomy, chemistry, Greek, and other rigorous subjects that prepared women for professional careers.
Over the next 148 years, the school changed names, first to Pennsylvania College for Women then to Chatham College (now Chatham University), and welcomed
generations of students, faculty, and leaders dedicated to creating a productive and conscientious society through liberal arts education. The 21st century brought the Falk
School of Sustainability, Eden Hall Campus, undergraduate coeducation, and Chatham’s 16th President, Dr. David Finegold.
Buckets and Blossoms, 2017
The Chatham University Archives and the JKM Library congratulate Dr. Finegold on his inauguration as he joins a historic lineage of Chatham leaders. We welcome
the Chatham community to take a look back to the history of our school and the men and women who have served as its leader. Explore this lineage below and through
materials on display in the lobby of the JKM Library.
Reverend James Black
1870 – 1875
Reverend James Black, born April 27, 1826, was selected by the Board of Trustees to be the first president of the Pennsylvania Female College. Although his work prior
to his presidency had primarily been the instruction of men, his two years of teaching at the coeducational University of Iowa had shown him “that our daughters are as
capable of instruction as our sons.” Noted for his stirring oratory, Reverend Black led a daily devotional every morning before classes began.
Reverend Thomas Strong
1875 – 1878
In addition to his presidential responsibilities, Reverend Thomas Strong taught classes in moral philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and history, and was considered a gifted
teacher by his students. In 1876, Strong helped to establish the Alumnae Association of the college, which worked to promote the interests of the college and foster
fellowship among its members.
Helen E. Pelletreau
1878 – 1881 (Acting)
1881 – 1894
The “sweetly austere” Helen E. Pelletreau served as the third president of the Pennsylvania Female College, guiding it through a financially tumultuous period which saw
drastic reductions in the salaries of all employees. Although there was doubt as to whether the college would survive, Miss Pelletreau remained committed to instilling her
educational theory in a shrinking student body. Of equal importance to college scholarship, she contended, were high ideals of living, kindly thoughtfulness, and courtesy.
R. Jennie DeVore
1894 – 1900
As the Pennsylvania College for Women continued to endure financial instability, Miss R. Jennie DeVore placed her hopes in a rigorous curriculum that would position
the college among the “best institutions.” Convinced that an honorable college should have a campus to match its lofty academics, Miss DeVore oversaw additions to
Berry Hall and construction of the Music Hall, which became recognizable features of the campus skyline for the next fifty years.
Chalmers Martin
1900 – 1903
Recognizing the “free-elective” trend among institutions of higher learning, Chalmers Martin introduced a revised curriculum designating two-fifths of courses as
electives. This was welcome news to students who felt that required subjects monopolized too much time and restricted intellectual exploration.
Dr. Samuel Martin
1903 – 1906
“Samuel Martin,” Hankey Center &
C. Elizabeth Boyd ’33 Archives,
accessed October 4, 2017,
http://exhibits.wilson.edu/items/show/87.
To maintain the high educational standards established by Miss DeVore, the Pennsylvania College for Women accumulated an alarming amount of debt which, by 1904,
threatened the existence of the college. Knowing student fees would be insufficient in covering ever-increasing expenditures, Dr. Samuel Martin called upon trustees,
alumnae, and others who believed in the mission of the college for financial support, and was met with an overwhelming response. By January 1, 1906, the college raised
$200,000, enough to eliminate the debt and establish a $120,000 endowment fund.
Dr. Henry Drennan Lindsay
1906 – 1914
Under Dr. Henry Drennan Lindsay’s eight-year tenure as president, the Pennsylvania College for Women greatly increased the size of the student body, diversified the
curriculum, and facilitated the creation and growth of on-campus arts programming. Dr. Lindsay served as president until his sudden death from pneumonia in 1914.
Dr. John Carey Acheson
1915 – 1922
In his first year as president, Dr. John Carey Acheson sought to radically modernize the Pennsylvania College for Women, proposing that the campus move from its
location on Murray Hill to the property of Ross Farms, near Aspinwall. Dr. Acheson remained committed to his plan until his resignation in 1922, but annual budget
deficits and the First World War continuously stymied his vision.
Cora Helen Coolidge
1922 – 1933
Miss Cora Helen Coolidge, a former instructor and dean at the Pennsylvania College for Women, was elected as president during a time of considerable financial
difficulties. Convincing all groups of the college that an endowment of one million dollars would be necessary to ensure the survival and growth of PCW, Miss Coolidge
spearheaded an intensive fundraising campaign. Although the original goal of one million dollars was not met, the profile of the college had risen appreciably.
Mary Helen Marks
1933 – 1935 (Acting)
When illness forced Miss Cora Helen Coolidge to resign from her position as president in 1932, the longtime dean of the college, Miss Mary Helen Marks, was elected as
acting president. The years of the Great Depression proved difficult for the Pennsylvania College for Women, but Miss Marks was commended by the editorial staff of the
student-run Arrow for “efficiently and graciously” carrying out her presidential duties and for being an example of cheerfulness throughout one of the most precarious
periods of the college’s existence.
Dr. Herbert Lincoln Spencer
1935 – 1945
Dr. Herbert Lincoln Spencer was esteemed by civic and educational organizations throughout the Pittsburgh area for his enthusiasm and affability, traits considered
indispensable by the Board of Trustees during the challenging years of the Great Depression and World War II. To help ease the financial burden of the college, and to
contribute to national defense efforts, Dr. Spencer permitted the campus to be used for the instruction of men in local defense industries and fifty non-student women
employed by the Glenn Martin Bomber Plant.
Dr. Paul Russell Anderson
1945 – 1960
Dr. Herbert Lincoln Spencer’s handpicked successor, Dr. Paul Russell Anderson, was enthusiastically elected by the Board of Trustees to lead the reconversion to peacetime order following World War II. During Dr. Anderson’s presidency, a new and modernized curriculum was conceived and several new buildings, including Braun, Falk,
and Coolidge Halls, were constructed to accommodate the growing student body.
Dr. Edward Eddy
1960 – 1977
As societal tensions mounted on campuses across the United States, Dr. Edward Eddy proclaimed in the 1965 Chatham College yearbook that “A college graduate today
ought to be among the most dissatisfied people in the world.” Graduates who lost a passionate desire for change, he continued, “deny all that your alma matter
represents.”
Dr. Alberta Arthurs
1977 – 1982
A sluggish economy, transformative technologies, and an increasingly complex society created new opportunities for Chatham College and for Dr. Alberta Arthurs,
Chatham’s 14th
president. To meet these new demands, Dr. Arthurs advocated for new academic offerings and adjustments to library and technological resources that
would prepare graduates for a rapidly changing decade.
Claire Guthrie Gastañaga
1982 – 1983 (Acting)
Claire Guthrie (now Guthrie Gastañaga) was appointed as acting president amid rumors that Chatham College would be closing. During this pivotal year in the college’s
history, Guthrie Gastañaga oversaw the introduction of a new core curriculum that would allow career-minded students to contend in a competitive job market. Guthrie
Gastañaga is now executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.
Dr. Rebecca Stafford
1983 – 1990
Under the leadership of Dr. Rebecca Stafford, Chatham College introduced the Information Science, Human Services Administration, and International Business majors to
entice career-minded students. During this period of rapid modernization, Chatham College also implemented a more rigorous curriculum and adopted a motion to
consider coeducation.
Louise Brown
1991 – 1992
A Trustee and alumna of the Class of `67, Louise Brown brought 15 years of city government experience to her interim presidency.
Dr. Esther Barazzone
1992 – 2016
Under the leadership of Dr. Esther Barazzone, our longest tenured president to date, Chatham gained university status, began admitting men as undergraduate students,
and received international recognition in the field of sustainability. “Dr. B” also prioritized a multicultural education experience to prepare graduates for an economically
and technologically connected world, the result of which was the creation of the Global Focus program.
Dr. David Finegold
2016 –
A renowned scholar and educational innovator, Dr. David Feingold has authored or co-authored seven books and monographs, including BioIndustry Ethics and
Corporate Boards: New Strategies for Adding Value at the Top. Dr. Finegold has dedicated his career to education reform, the design of high-performance organizations,
and extensive research on education and skill-creation systems around the world.
Before signing off, we couldn’t resist sharing a few extra pictures of former Chatham presidents. We’ve many more in the Chatham University Archives, so stop by to
learn more about Chatham history.