Barbara W. Newell

Barbara Warne Newell (born August 19, 1929)[1] is an economist, who after an academic career as a professor took on many administrator roles in various higher education institutions. Notably, she served as the tenth President of Wellesley College from 1972 to 1980 and was the first female chancellor of the State University System of Florida from 1981 to 1985.[2][3]

Dr. Barbara Newell
Born (1929-08-19) August 19, 1929
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin
Vassar College
OccupationAcademic Administrator
Former Chancellor
Spouse(s)Ernest Kolowrat

During her time of as the 10th President of Wellesley College, she founded the Center for Women's Studies, which would later become the Wellesley Centers for Women, home to hundreds of research and action projects that have informed public policy, influenced practices, and shaped public opinion.[4] During her tenure, she also expanded academic facilities and brought them together in one location.

From 1979 to 1981, as successor to Esteban Edward Torres, she was the first woman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO.[5]

Early life

Barbara Newell (née Warne) was born on August 19, 1929, the daughter of Colston Warne and Frances Warne. She moved to Amherst, Massachusetts as an infant with her family, where her father taught economics at Amherst College from 1930 to 1969.

“My home was a social center for the Economics Departments of Smith and Mount Holyoke, as well as Amherst. So my childhood was peopled by a great number of professional women and I just took it for granted that this is where I was headed. I also noted that the only women economists in the country were employed by women’s colleges.” — Barbara Newell, Oral History Interview with Barbara Newell (WCW)[6]

Education

Seeking a rigorous economics program, Newell applied to Vassar College at the behest of a family friend after hearing Newell speak as the New England debate champion. Newell found that her time at Vassar, a historically women's college, mirrored her childhood experiences with her mother's peer group of highly educated women. Barbara Newell graduated in 1951 with a B.A. in Economics.[7]

After graduation, Newell sought a graduate program that would allow her to earn her Ph.D. while she taught and completed fieldwork. She was denied her latter request by a number of universities due to her gender, but found a good fit with the University of Wisconsin. Two years into the program Newell lost her husband of five weeks, George V. Thompson, to polio and took time off from her degree, before being encouraged to return by her father. H. Edwin Young, then chair of the economics department, and Robben Wright Fleming arranged for the University of Illinois to pay for Newell to complete her dissertation before coming back to the University of Wisconsin.[8] She wrote her dissertation on Chicago and the labor movement. Newell received her M.A. In 1953 and her Ph.D. in 1958, both in Economics.

She quotes, "And Bob [Robben] Fleming had the presence of mind to say, "Let's bring together people with common interests and goals to see whether we can create a center that really addresses issues of poverty." It happened to be at a time when the whole country was looking at poverty. This was the very first poverty center proposal. Mel Laird, a Wisconsin Republican in Congress, brought forward the bill to create the Poverty Center, and Bob asked me to do all the legwork on this project."

The Poverty Center proposal was the first inspiration for creating Wellesley Center for Women (WCW).

Newell also received honorary degrees from the following thirteen institutions: Central Michigan University (1973), Trinity College (1973), Williams College (1974), Northeastern University (1974), Mt. Vernon College (1975), Purdue University (1976), Lesley College (1978), Denison University (1978), Rollins College (1981), Florida Institute of Technology (1981), Eckerd College (1982), Gettysburg College (1982), Butler University (1983), Alaska Pacific University (1986), Monmouth College (1986), and University of Maryland (1987).[9]

Career

After earning her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in 1958, Newell was hired as Assistant Professor of Economics at Purdue University in 1959, making her the first woman hired by the Purdue School of Business. She applied for that position after her husband, a physicist named George Newell, was hired by the university. Her husband tragically developed cancer in 1963 and died a month later, leaving her alone with a one-year-old daughter and a part time teaching position. Since it was her seventh year working at Purdue, she also was put on trial for tenure within the same year as her husband's passing. She succeeded in getting tenure, but shortly thereafter returned to the University of Wisconsin Madison to become Assistant to Chancellor Robben Fleming. During her time there, Newell was tasked with creating a Center for Poverty[10] at the university, an experience which would later be influential in her creation of the Wellesley Centers for Women during her presidency at Wellesley College.

After serving as an Associate Provost for Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Pittsburgh, Newell was appointed as the 10th President of Wellesley College in 1971 and served in the position until 1980. Near the end of her presidency from 1979 to 1981, Newell became the first woman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). After leaving Wellesley College, she served as the chancellor of the State University System of Florida (1981–85) and taught economics.[11]

Wellesley Centers for Women

In 1974, Newell helped establish the Center for Research on Women in Higher Education and the Professions (CRW). She served on the Board of Overseers and the Interim Advisory Committee for the center. Newell envisioned that the CRW would defend Wellesley as a women's college, include women's issues in the college curriculum, and link education and employment for the students. In 1995, under President Diana Chapman Walsh's presidency, the CRW merged[12] with the Stone Center for Developmental Services and Studies to form the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW). Since then,[13] the WCW have completed and continue to perform extensive research[14] and innovative projects to promote gender equality, social justice, and human well-being. Newell's impact lasts to this day, and the Centers serve as a leading institution that takes action on various topics, such as education, child care, economic security, mental health, youth and adolescent development, gender-based violence, leadership, economic security, and society.

Mathematics Project

During her role in WCW, Newell implemented the Mathematics Project in 1976 "to bring back to the study of mathematics undergraduate women who have dropped out of mathematics early in their education, depriving themselves of career opportunities in a variety of fields."[15] This program was developed with the Department of Mathematics of Wellesley and tested on Wellesley students. On June 21, 1974, Newell and Federation President Irene Tinker quoted regarding the grant from the Carnegie Corporation: “The activities of the Center will provide a unique opportunity to study the subtle discrimination that women face in their career aspirations and choices and to develop effective programs to overcome such obstacles."[15]

Honors, Affiliations, Awards

Educational Governance
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Member of Corporation, 1979-1984[16]
  • University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees, 1973-1976[17]
  • Advisor to the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees, Middletown, Connecticut, 1970-1974[17]

Educational Associations
  • National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Board of Directors, 1977-1980[18]
  • Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Board of Trustees, 1976-1979[18]
  • Consortium on Financing Higher Education, Board of Directors, 1974-1975[9]
  • Vice Chairman of the American Council on Education, 1973-1976[18]
  • Southern Regional Education Board, 1981-1985 [9]

Education Task Forces and Special Projects
  • Board Member, Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, American Economics Association, 1988-1991[19]
  • Chair, Evaluation of the University of Massachusetts for the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, 1988
  • Member, President's Commission on the Future of the University of Massachusetts, 1988–89
  • Governor's Council on High Technology, Florida, 1983-1985 [9]
  • National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of the State Universities, 1984-1985[20]
  • Steering Committee on Presidents to Assist the Boston School Department, 1975-1979[18]

Public Service
  • Secretary of the Dane County, Wisconsin Community Action Council, 1964-1966[17]
  • Board, Dane County Wisconsin, Community Welfare Council, 1964-1966[17]
  • Chair, National Commission on Medical Care for Women, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1970-1972[17]
  • Trustee, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1972-2004[18]
  • Board of Trustees of the Brookings Institution 1973-1970[18]
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Board of Overseers 1974-1979[18]
  • WGBH Boston, Board of Overseers 1974-1979[17]
  • Editorial Board of Labor History, 1975-1979[17]
  • Committee for Economic Development 1979-1983[18]
  • Board, Americans for the Universality of UNESCO 1984-2000[21]
  • Florida Supreme Court Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Commission, 1990-1991[22]
  • Florida Education and Employment Council for Women and Girls 1992-1997[23]

Publications

Books:

  • Our Labor Force, Curriculum Resources, 1962
  • Chicago and the Labor Movement, University of Illinois Press, 1961

Book Chapter:

  • “The Role of Women Presidents/Chancellors in Government Relations,” 1990, published as book chapter in Women at the Helm, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 1991.

Articles:

  • “Title VI Issues as Viewed from a Chancellor’s Office”, Desegregating America's Colleges and Universities, Title VI Regulation of Higher Education, Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1988
  • “Development and Education”, Newsletter, Americans for the Universality of UNESCO, Vol. III, Issue Three, September, 1987
  • “Education with a World Perspective - A Necessity for America’s Political and Economic Defense”, Annals, Vol. 291, May, 1987
  • “Has Collaboration Facilitated the Integration of Statewide Systems in Advancing Teacher Education”, Partnerships for Excellence, School/College Collaboration and Building Integrated Teacher Education Systems Statewide, Proceedings of the 1985 Summer Institute, Washington: Council of Chief State School Officers, 1986
  • “How Florida Handled Admission Standards”, AGB Reports, January/February, 1986
  • “Future of the State Universities: Continuing Education and Research in an Era of Science-Based Industries”, The Future of State Universities, Rutgers University Press, 1985
  • “Florida Library Association, May 29, 1985, Orlando, Florida, Remarks”, Journal of Educational Media and Library sciences, Summer, 1985
  • “The Changing Requirements for College Admission”, Change Magazine, November–December, 1984
  • “Internationalizing Higher Education”, The Forum, National Mortar Board, Winter, 1984
  • “Women in Higher Education”, 1977, International Encyclopedia of Higher Education
  • Co-author, “Conversations of Faculty Productivity”, No. 11 in a series published by ARA Services, Inc. Philadelphia 1973
  • “Social Pressures on Management - Equal Opportunity for Employment”, The Journal of College and University Personnel Association, Vol. 24, No. 1, December 1972
  • “Enter Now and Pay Later”, Educational Record, Winter, 1970
  • “Parallels of Negro and Women’s Education”, School and Society, October, 1970, pages 357-9
  • “Co-ops on Campus: The Militant Consumers”, National, Vol.209, No. 20, December 8, 1969, pages 635-6
  • “Impact for Change: Students in Action”, Women in Action, Center for Continuing Education of Women, University of Michigan, March 26, 1969, page 25

Film Strip:

  • The Pulse of the Nation (with Lawrence Senesh), Join Council for Economic Education, 1961

References
  1. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Volume 15, Issues 40-52. pp. 1819–1820.
  2. Wellesley College Profile Archived December 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "WEDDINGS;Barbara Newell, Ernest Kolowrat". The New York Times. 1996-03-24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  4. Newell, Barbara. "WCW in Retrospect: A Conversation with Barbara Newell". Wellesley Centers for Women.
  5. Department of State, Office of the Historian: Barbara Warne Newell (1929–)
  6. "Oral History Interview with Barbara Newell | Fact Sheets & Briefs | Publications by title | Publications Wellesley Centers for Women". www.wcwonline.org. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  7. https://digital.lib.usf.edu/SFS0024335/00001
  8. Maparyan, Layli. "Oral History Interview with Barbara Newell" (PDF). Wellesley Centers for Women. Wellesley Centers for Women. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  9. "Florida State University Commencement Address 1984".
  10. "Institute for Research on Poverty".
  11. "Wellesley College Presidential History".
  12. https://www.wellesley.edu/news/2018/stories/node/158896
  13. http://wcwonline.org/milestones
  14. https://www.wcwonline.org/Projects/topics-list
  15. ”https://archives.wellesley.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/858
  16. "Former Corporation Members | The MIT Corporation".
  17. "Jimmy Carter Library" (PDF).
  18. Press Releases. United States Department of State. p. 11.
  19. "American Economic Association Newsletter 1990".
  20. Hearings on the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. p. 1417.
  21. "The Executive Board of UNESCO: 2014 edition".
  22. "Report and Recommendations of the Florida Supreme Court Racial and Ethnic Bias Commission".
  23. "Education Resources Information Center" (PDF).
Academic offices
Preceded by
E. T. York		 4th Chancellor of the
State University System of Florida
1981–1985		 Succeeded by
Charles B. Reed
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