Bernice Brown Cronkhite (23 July 1893 – 3 August 1983) was an educator and former dean of

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

, working there for thirty-six years. She was the first woman at Radcliffe College to earn a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Biography

Born in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, Maine, Cronkhite earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from Radcliffe College in 1916, her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1918, and her

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in 1920. She became the first woman at Radcliffe College to receive a doctorate in political science, her thesis entitled, "On the Status of Armed Merchantmen". At the age of 29 in 1922, she became the dean of Radcliffe College, making her the youngest person to become a dean in the United States. She then served as the first dean for the Radcliffe graduate school from 1934 until her retirement in 1959. Although she retired, she remained a vice president and trustee of Radcliffe College until 1960, when she was named dean emeritus. Cronkhite was the primary author of a 1956 report issued by Radcliffe College which summarized the experiences of several hundred Ph.D. holders from the institution. In 1957, she raised funds to establish a women's dormitory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In her thirty-six years of service to Radcliffe College, she had worked there longer than any other senior officer in the institution. She died on 3 August 1983 at the Stillman Infirmary of the Harvard University Health Services in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Cronkhite Graduate center at Radcliffe College was named in her honor, as a tribute to the 70 years that she was connected with the institution.

Works

* ''Handbook for College Teachers'' (1950) * ''Graduate Education for Women: The Radcliffe Ph.D.'' (1956) * ''The Times of My Life'' (1982)

References

External links

Papers of Bernice Brown Cronkhite, 1921-1981: A Finding Aid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cronkhite, Bernice American women academics Radcliffe College faculty 1893 births 1983 deaths People from Calais, Maine American university and college faculty deans Women deans (academic) Radcliffe College alumni 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 20th-century American academics