Mary Maples Dunn
Encyclopedia
Mary Maples Dunn is a historian
who earned her Ph.D.
at Bryn Mawr College
, where she taught and served as Dean
. She served as the eighth president of Smith College
, for ten years beginning in 1985; in 2001 the college dedicated the Mary Maples Dunn Garden in recognition of her service and particularly her leadership on the college's Landscape Master Plan. Retired, Dunn became a Radcliffe Institute Fellow, although "Fellow" is an ironic title for someone who has dedicated most of her professional life to women's education. According to Ann M. Little, Dunn has also been the Director of the Schlesinger Library
, the first Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
, and co-Executive Officer of the American Philosophical Society
. While Dunn's scholarship primarily concerned William Penn
, Pennsylvania
, and the history of English-speaking colonies in the middle-Atlantic portion of what is now the United States
, she was not guilty of the limited visions of those who understand "colonial America" to refer only to the "original" thirteen English coast on the Atlantic Coast of North America. As a history professor at Bryn Mawr College, Dunn taught an innovative interdisciplinary course in Latin American Studies
in the mid-1970s. This early foray into interdisciplinary Latin American studies incorporated history, culture, and architecture. The Mary Maples Dunn Prize, established in 2008, will honor "the best article in early American women’s history by an untenured scholar published in The William and Mary Quarterly that uses gender as a primary analytical category".
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
who earned her Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
, where she taught and served as Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
. She served as the eighth president of Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, for ten years beginning in 1985; in 2001 the college dedicated the Mary Maples Dunn Garden in recognition of her service and particularly her leadership on the college's Landscape Master Plan. Retired, Dunn became a Radcliffe Institute Fellow, although "Fellow" is an ironic title for someone who has dedicated most of her professional life to women's education. According to Ann M. Little, Dunn has also been the Director of the Schlesinger Library
Schlesinger Library
The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F...
, the first Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. It is heir to the name and buildings of Radcliffe College, but unlike that historical institution, its focus is directed...
, and co-Executive Officer of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
. While Dunn's scholarship primarily concerned William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and the history of English-speaking colonies in the middle-Atlantic portion of what is now the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, she was not guilty of the limited visions of those who understand "colonial America" to refer only to the "original" thirteen English coast on the Atlantic Coast of North America. As a history professor at Bryn Mawr College, Dunn taught an innovative interdisciplinary course in Latin American Studies
Latin American Studies
Latin American studies is an academic discipline dealing with the study of Latin America and Latin Americans.-Definition:Latin American studies critically examines the history, culture, politics, and experiences of Latin Americans in Latin America and often also elsewhere .Latin American studies...
in the mid-1970s. This early foray into interdisciplinary Latin American studies incorporated history, culture, and architecture. The Mary Maples Dunn Prize, established in 2008, will honor "the best article in early American women’s history by an untenured scholar published in The William and Mary Quarterly that uses gender as a primary analytical category".