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Born on December
11, 1876 in Moorhead, Minnesota, Ada Comstock was the eldest of three children;
she was bright, vivacious, and very much a tomboy in her
early childhood. Her father, a successful lawyer, recognized her
capabilities and potential and set about to cultivate them by encouraging
an early and
sound education for his daughter.
 Ada
completed her high school education at the age of 15 and then went on to college.
In 1895 she
transferred from the University of Minnesota to Smith College, where
she completed
her last two years of undergraduate study. As
a Smith student, Ada often questioned the established rules and norms of
college life. While a resident of Hubbard House, she was given
a case of champagne which the housemother felt should be given away.
Instead, in a move characteristic of her spirit, she decided to store it in
the water cooler
to refresh her friends!
After graduating from Smith in 1897, Ada went
on to a graduate program at Moorhead State Normal School where she became
certified to teach. She then entered
Columbia University for graduate work in English, history and education,
and by 1899 was ready to return home to look for a job. In 1907,
after teaching rhetoric at the University of Minnesota, she was appointed
the university’s
first dean of women. In this capacity, she was instrumental in
improving the quality of life for the women of the college, arguing persistently
that a college was responsible for one’s physical and intellectual
well-being.
In 1912, Ada came to Smith as the first dean
of the college and to teach English. Particularly challenging to her
was the opportunity to advise and teach young women in an all-female institution. One
of the most important tenets of her educational philosophy was the
inculcation in young women of
self-respect, one aspect of which was knowing how to employ oneself. Ada
believed very strongly throughout her entire life that a college education
should inspire women to take a part in the shaping of the world.
In
1917, when the presidency of Smith College became vacant, Ada was
given the responsibility of its operation for approximately six months,
but was
neither given the title of acting president nor was she considered
for the position. Despite
Ada’s significant and numerous contributions to the college,
Smith was not ready for its first woman president.
The chance to
become the president of a women’s college presented itself
to Ada in 1923 when Radcliffe offered her the position of their
first full-time president. Throughout most of her administration,
Ada Comstock struggled with trying to maintain a balance between
Radcliffe’s association with
Harvard and its establishment as an independent women’s college. Under
President Comstock, Radcliffe was able to launch a nationwide admission
program, improve student housing, construct new classroom buildings
and expand the graduate
program.
In 1943, Ada felt her work at Radcliffe was complete. She
had brought the institution to distinction and maturity, and
it was now time to move on. At the age of 67, she stepped
down from the presidency and shortly after announced her marriage
to Wallace Notestein, Sterling Professor
Emeritus of History at Yale University, a man she had known since
her days at the University of Minnesota. Retirement for Ada was
an extremely busy period in her life. She continued
to be actively involved with the Smith College board of trustees,
worked on plans for the graduate center at Radcliffe, did extensive
educational committee
work, administered a two-career household, and traveled extensively
with her husband.
Ada Comstock Notestein considered education
and personal growth to be a lifelong process. As Ada
Comstock Scholars, our lives epitomize these ideals. Active
and involved in her work for higher education for women until
her death at 97, she inspires all of us with her enthusiasm
for life and perseverance
in the attainment of personal goals. |
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About the Program
History
of Ada
Comstock
For
Prospective
Students
For
Current Students
Ada
Handbook
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