Winifred J. Robinson received her Bachelor of Pedagogy from the Michigan State Normal School in 1892. Seven years later, she earned her B.S. from the University of Michigan. There she began a lifelong interest in botany, which she later studied at Columbia University, receiving her M.A. (1904) and her Ph.D. (1912). Prior to coming to Delaware, Dr. Robinson served as principal of numerous secondary schools in Pennsylvania and as a Professor in the Biology Department at Vassar College.

With her appointment in 1914, Dr. Robinson became the first Dean of the Women’s College, which consisted, at the time, of a muddy field and two unfinished buildings. During her tenure, Dean Robinson helped the Women’s College evolve into its own entity, rivaling Delaware College.

She was twice elected President of the College Section of the National Association of Deans of Women and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women. She is the author of History of the Women’s College of the University of Delaware, 1914-1938, which was published in Delaware Notes in 1947. Dr. Robinson retired in 1938 and, in 1940, Science Hall was renamed Robinson Hall in her honor.

More about Dean Robinson:

Beneath Thy Guiding Hand: A History of Women at the University of Delaware by Carol E. Hoffecker

The University of Delaware: A History by Dr John A. Munroe (see chapter7)

Winifred Josephine Robinson by Stanley Arthurs