In 2007, Are Female Faculty Floundering or Flourishing? A Look At Woman’s Evolving Role at Choate
By Rebecca Sassoon ‘08
News Reporter
Forty-four years ago, the government passed the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for men and women to receive different wages for the same job. In the past century, women have joined the faculty and administration at Choate Rosemary Hall and other prominent boarding schools and universities across the country. In this article, The News examines the role of females in the Choate community since the school’s founding.
In 1890, six years before founding of The Choate School, Rosemary Hall opened its doors to high school females in Wallingford. That year Mary Atwater Choate hired Caroline Ruutz-Rees as the headmistress of the all-girls school. Ruutz-Rees was unconventional for her time; she adopted two children despite never having been married. According to documented accounts of the headmistress, she firmly believed that her pupils should possess a strong sense of independence and self-worth. Upon the foundation of The Choate School in 1896 however, Rosemary Hall moved to Greenwich, CT, and took a back seat to its brother school.
The Choate School
During its early years, when The Choate School was an all-boys preparatory school, few women were present. Mark Pitman, headmaster until his death in 1904, had three daughters who all taught singing, writing and piano. However, none of them were ever considered faculty members. Clara St. John, the wife of the second headmaster George St. John, and a Bryn Mawr graduate, taught Greek and Latin to the boys. She too was never considered faculty. It wasn’t until Headmaster St. John hired Anita Packard in 1944, that the school had a female faculty member. With Ph D from Radcliffe and Harvard, Packard taught both French and Spanish. Nearly fifty years after its establishment, this marked a major milestone in Choate history.
Women in the Administration
Choate’s first female administrator was Pauline Anderson, who became the Dean of Academic Affairs in 1973, two years after the merger of Rosemary Hall and The Choate School and twenty-three years after she was hired as a faculty member. Anderson retired after ten years, and was succeeded by Joanne C. Sullivan. From 1990 to 2001, a Patricia H. Hand and Elinor S. Abbe respectively held the position of Dean of Students. In addition, other women have been Dean of Students, as well as Director of College Counseling. However, it was only after the merger that women began to obtain powerful roles in the Choate community.
Kathleen Wallace, the current Dean of Academic Affairs, has held her position since Fall 2003. Wallace began working at Choate in 1982, teaching French, Biology and Chemistry. In addition to teaching, she is now responsible for overseeing the academic departments, the Registrar’s Office, the College Office, international programs and the library. When the opening appeared in 2003, Mr. Shanahan encouraged women to apply for the job because of the dearth of administrative women at Choate. At the commencement of her job in 2003, Mrs. Wallace comments, “I wouldn’t have accepted the position if I didn’t think I could do it, but it certainly was challenging.” Mrs. Wallace is respected throughout Choate as a powerful figure in the community
The Future for Female Faculty
While Choate Rosemary Hall has had five headmasters since its founding, only one has been female. When asked about the possibility of female headmistress in Choate’s future Mrs. Wallace responded, “I would not appoint a woman for the sake of appointing a woman; I’d appoint her only if she were the most qualified candidate. And I am confident that whoever is deemed the most qualified candidate, male or female, would be accepted by this community.” Amy Salot, Director of Residential Life commented, “A person’s personality, effectiveness, and willingness to work with others dictate how he or she will perform the job, regardless of gender.”
Many of the formerly all-boys traditional preparatory schools have appointed headmistresses. Philips Academy Andover, Deerfield Academy as well as The Lawrenceville School have female headmasters. “Choate would never hire anyone who was not qualified for the job,” commented Stephen Farrell, Dean of Faculty, “however an individual’s gender may be an enhancement of their qualifications, which in the past, would have been perceived as a detriment.”
