Alice Baldwin Collection

Alice Mary Baldwin (1879-1960) was a professor of history and administrator at the Woman's College of Duke University. She researched and published widely and served as a national advocate for women's education. Born in 1879 in Lewinston, Maine, Baldwin earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cornell University. After graduation, she held positions at Fargo College in North Dakota and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. In 1921, she began pursuing a PhD in history at the University of Chicago. In 1923, Baldwin was appointed an acting dean of women at Trinity College (later Duke University). She became the institution's first female full faculty member, and in 1924 the permanent dean. From 1930 till her retirement in 1947, she served as the dean of newly established Womans’ College. The first woman with full faculty status, Baldwin was an advocate for academic and social improvements to provide the best educational experience for female students. She championed the recruitment of more female faculty members to serve as role models for undergraduate women. She also insisted on establishing a separate student government association for women and campaigned for women to have equal access to upper-level courses traditionally offered only to men.