UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 2, Page 5
September 8, 1994
New book examines history of women at UD

     The road to equal education and opportunities for women at the
University of Delaware has had several detours over the years,
according to Carol Hoffecker, author of the new book, Beneath Thy
Guiding Hand: A History of Women at the University of Delaware.
     Hoffecker, who is the Richards Professor of History and associate
provost for graduate studies at the University, has written several
books on Delaware history, and she said she was intrigued by the idea
of writing a history of women at the U. of D. when approached by the
Office of Women's Affairs on the campus.
     Uniquely qualified for the task, Hoffecker has viewed the
University from the perspectives of an undergraduate, faculty member
and administrator.
     The book is dedicated to three women, including the two largely
responsible for establishment in 1914 of the former Women's College-
Winifred Josephine Robinson (1867-1962), first dean of the college,
and Emalea Pusey Warner, president of the state's Federation of Women
Clubs, who worked tirelessly to gain support for the college.
     As Hoffecker writes of Mrs. Warner, "If higher education for
women in Delaware had a founding mother, it was she." The Women's
College and Delaware College for men were coordinate colleges that
combined in 1921 to form the University of Delaware.
     The other woman honored by Hoffecker's dedication is
philanthropist Amy E. du Pont, who established the Unidel Foundation
that has benefited the University over the years. The music building
on the campus is named in her honor.
     Hoffecker herself attended Delaware in the late '50s, graduating
in 1960 and returning as a faculty member in the '70s.
     The 168-page, soft-bound book has 63 photographs, most of them
from the University Archives and some never published before. The book
has seven chapters, all with endnotes, and a foreword by faculty
colleague Joan del Fattore, who chaired the University's Commission on
the Status of Women from 1990-1992.
     The book is available at the University Bookstore for $15. Mail
orders are being accepted there, with a charge of $3.50 per book for
postage and handling. Orders should be sent to: University Bookstore,
University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19717-5260. Proceeds from this book
will benefit the University's Women's Studies Interdisciplinary
Program.
     A native of Wilmington, Hoffecker is also the author of Corporate
Capitol: Wilmington in the 20th Century, Delaware, The First State and
Federal Justice in the First State: A History of the United States
District Court for Delaware, among others.
                                                          -Sue Moncure