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• 1 2021-06-29T15:27:42+00:00 Being a Female Faculty Member 22 Describes characteristics of female faculty plain 2021-07-21T17:21:39+00:00

  There are several common themes that link the female faculty members at Hope College. Women tended to be single or widowed when they came to Hope College, aided by administrators of Hope College in various ways, and were members of the Reformed Church of America.
  
  Women composed a minority of the Hope College faculty based on observations in The Milestone ranging from 1925 to 1950. In 1925, 5 women and 12 men comprised the faculty, while in 1950 the faculty expanded to 14 women and 48 men instructors and professors out of 62 total faculty members. Typically, women occupied assistant positions to administrators or served as librarians at Hope College, rather than instructors or professors. Furthermore, women tended to dominate the language and music departments, while women were rare in the math and science departments. 

  Even among the women faculty, many only earned the title of instructor, rather than professor. In 1950, 40 of the 48 male instructors were considered professors, while 7 of the 14 women were granted the title professor.  A majority of the female faculty members earned the title instructor or assistant or associate professors, while a higher proportion of males became full professors of their subject, which impacts the amount of money a woman faculty member earned because of the pay discrepancies of the ranks of professors. 
  

  The balance between education and family was a controversial topic. One source published in 1929 in the North American Review presented the argument that motherhood is the most important task for women and the most successful mothers are intelligent women. The article declares “Raising children requires, for its proper fulfilment, more intelligence than any other task which the human race is ever called upon to do… But highly intelligent women have long been avoiding it because they appreciate, far more clearly than their dumber sisters do, the enormous difficulties of managing children so that they develop the best that is in them” [1]. This article attempts to persuade intelligent women to forgo careers and raise children because working and raising children is taxing. Furthermore, the author argues that intelligent women will find the most happiness when raising children and in a way it is their duty to the human race to raise children. Women likely were surrounded by the social expectations expressed in this article, which influences women's entry into higher education. 

  This article is one of many asserting that the home should be the highest priority for women instead of higher education. In addition to the North American Review, the media played a role in developing the idea that women should only be a homemaker and mother. The article, “The Celluloid Ceiling: Women Academics, Social Expectations, and Narrative in 1940s American Film” crafted an argument around the influence the media has on the image of female professors. This article pinpointed 63 films for study and only found female academics in 6 of the films. The women professors portrayed in these films surveyed painted female professors as beautiful and young women that left their positions to marry a man by the end of the movie or became old and plain women. Additionally, enrolling in higher education cost money and families were more likely to educate their sons than their daughters, which prevented some women from receiving the higher education necessary to acquire the title professor [2]. 

  The trends these articles discuss can be seen in the female faculty population at Hope College. Many of the women that worked at Hope College were single or recently widowed. For example, Metta Ross, Janet Mulder, Laura Boyd, Ella Hawkinson, and more were single women who focused on their teaching career. Several of the female professors, such as Metta Ross and Janet Mulder or Laura Boyd and Eva Van Schaack lived together as professors and retired Hope faculty. Winifred Durfee, Marian Stryker, and Esther Snow came to Hope after their husbands died. Esther Snow and Marian Stryker became widows and needed to support their younger children, thus they did not have the option to focus only on motherhood. Robert Snow, the son of Esther, wrote a biography of Esther Snow’s life. He made notes about her progression from a temporary faculty member to an instructor and eventual assistant professor stating, “In any case, I’m sure she was grateful for employment and didn’t worry as much about titles as she was about getting the job done, and the necessary remuneration involved” [3]. It is notable that Hope College hired majority single or widowed faculty members despite expectations for women to be homemakers and mothers. 
  
  I found several indications that President Lubbers or other administration members aided these women and made accommodations for personal matters. For example, Marian Stryker became an employee in the Office of Alumni Relations after her husband died leaving her the sole caregiver of her children. Lubbers wrote to Stryker explaining, “Due to family circumstances, it will be permissible for you to open your office as late as ten o’clock in the morning and to make substitution by taking home such work as can be done away from the office” [4]. Additionally, Lubbers encouraged Mildred Schuppert to attend library school at Michigan State University and he petitioned the Army to defer Louise Van Dommelen from active duty so she could continue directing female physical education [5]. Finally, Hope College offered Esther Snow her husband's position after his death. Snow aided her husband with his duties, thus she was qualifified for the position and needed income as a single mother. This desire by administrators may have been motivated by compassion, concern, or a sense of duty as members of the Reformed Church of America. 

  Lastly, female faculty were respected members of the Reformed Church of America since it still endorsed Hope College in the 1930s and 1940s. The women hired at Hope College attended the Reformed Church and the women faculty took an active role in their church. Several of these women, such as Esther Snow and Mildred Schuppert played the organ at churches in the Holland community. Additionally, tithes and offerings came out of the faculty member's paycheck. Correspondence from Mildred Schuppert indicated that Hope College paid 3% of the 6% tithe to the Reformed Church from Schuppert’s income [6].

  References: 
  [1] Walter B Pitkin, "Can Intellectual Women Live Happily?" The North American Review 227, no. 6 (1929): 703-704, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25110769.
  [2] Pauline J Reynolds, “The Celluloid Ceiling: Women Academics, Social Expectations, and Narrative in 1940s American Film,” Gender and Education, vol. 21, no. 2 (2009): 212–213, doi:10.1080/09540250802393289.
  [3] Robert Snow, "Musikalisch Frau Schnee: A brief biography of the life of Esther MacFarlane Snow,” Snow, Esther M. (1895-1974). Papers, 1942-2002 (H88-0140), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI. 
  [4] Irwin Lubbers, April 1, 1947, Stryker, Marian A. (1909-1994). Papers, 1947-1974 (H88-0149), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI. 
  [5] Irwin Lubbers, November 29, 1950, Van Dommelen, Louise Jean. Papers, 1951 (H88-1980.70), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI. 
  [6] Mildred Schuppert, April 27, 1951, Schuppert, Mildred W. (1909-1993). Papers, 1871-1993 (W94-1183), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI. 

• 1 2021-06-30T14:32:46+00:00 Struggles of Female Faculty 8 This page describes some of the hardships faced by female faculty members. plain 2021-07-28T17:24:51+00:00

  Female faculty members noted some of the struggles and challenges resulting from being a female on the Hope College faculty. Dick and Phyllis Huff, two former Hope students and family friends of Metta Ross were interviewed about Ross in 2002. When asked about Ross’s perception of gender on campus the couple stated, “she was keenly aware that women were not regarded the same as men. And she was positive in her attitude and yet she was aware that some of the male professors did have certain advantages that women did not get, even the office that the women professors receive. They didn’t have draperies in their offices and they had less special offices” [1]. 
  
  The statistics from the Milestone data indicate fewer female faculty members were made assistant or associate professors and fewer women had PhDs. A letter from Winifred Durfee to President Lubbers comments on Durfee’s opinion of PhDs or women stating, “I believe that she [Miss Emma Reeverts] will be a far better dean than Miss Lichty, who was a great disappointment to me. I am glad that she has gone to Kalamazoo where her doctorate will be of great importance” [2]. This account surprised me because I viewed Lichty’s PhD as a positive attribute and direction for females at Hope College, yet the context of the letter suggests that Durfee was not impressed by Lichty's degree and was pleased she resigned to teach elsewhere. 
  
  Promotions became a struggle for Metta Ross as she became more vocal about her desires and future position at Hope College. In 1942, Ross became an associate professor in the English department because additional professors were needed in this department. It was not uncommon for instructors or professors to work in more than one department. However, Ross realized she enjoyed teaching history more than English in the spring of 1945 and petitioned Wichers to move her permanently to the history department. Ross wrote to the committee in charge of appointments requesting to be moved to the history department and made the head of the department since there was an opening for this position. 
  
  The committee explained that the next head of the history department would be a man with a doctorate degree. The text also stated, “It was the opinion of the Committee that the matter of an associate professor of history should not be determined until a new president has been elected and the head of the department of history chosen. Your request to become associate professor of history will be placed before these men.”
  
  The Board of Trustees appointed the next president, Irwin Lubbers, a few months later, so Metta Ross wrote to Lubbers and repeated her request. A letter from Irwin Lubbers in August 1945 suggests that Ross’s request was not granted because she taught two courses of English the next semester. 
  
  Even though Ross’s request to become a full time history professor and the head of the department was not granted, Ella Hakinson became the head of the history department three years later in 1948. Ross wrote to President Lubbers again in February 1954 requesting the department head position. Her letter outlined her time at Hope College and even though she didn't have a doctorate she had been performing the duties of the department head without the title. Hawkinson received a leave of absence in 1953 to teach in Norway, then became sick and died in 1954. Therefore, it can be surmised that Ross filled in for Hawkinson during her leave of absence and performed the necessary duties. In March 1954, Lubbers replied that her request would be seriously considered [3]. 
  
  Metta Ross never served as the chair of the history department or any other department, but she did continue teaching for 6 year after this before retiring in 1960. 
  
  Ross asserts that these issues were not restricted to the history department: 

  “We had in our science department at that time, a young woman, very brilliant and had a doctor’s degree. We were very good friends, too: our minds sort of clicked, and we used to spend quite a bit of time together because we could go out to meals and that sort of thing. She left us, I couldn't tell you why, and took a position in Missouri. She was supposed to have been head of the department at Hope, but a man came in and took her place, and I think that’s why she did it” [4]. 

  Female faculty members were in the minority at Hope College and experienced various struggles during their time at Hope College, yet they made a vast impact on their students through their courses, interactions with students, and time as advisors in various extracurricular activities.
  
  References: 
  [1] Dick and Phyllis Huff, “Metta Ross Oral Interview,” March 15, 2002, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI. 
  [2] Winifred Durfee, July 10, 1947, Durfee, Winifred Hackley (1861-1950). Papers, 1796-1963 (H88-0034), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI. 
  [3] Professional Concerns, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI. 
  [4] Nancy Swiyard, “Ross, Metta J Oral History Interview: Retired Faculty and Administrators of Hope College I and II,” 1977, Hope College Living Heritage Oral History Project. Records, (1977), June 1, 1977(H88-0234), Hope College Digital Commons, Hope College, Holland MI.