Winifred Josephine Robinson

Winifred Josephine Robinson (1867-1962) was an American botanist, educator, and educational administrator. As a botanist, she studied ferns and wrote several papers and books. She was the first dean of the Women's College of the University of Delaware, which was founded in 1914.[1][2][3][4][5]

Winifred Josephine Robinson
Robinson in 1914
Born1867
Barry County, Michigan
Died1962
Burial placeMount Evergreen Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Columbia University
Occupation(s)Botanist, educator, educational administrator
Known forFirst dean of the Women's College of the University of Delaware

Life and work

Robinson was born and raised in Barry County, Michigan, the daughter and only child of Walter Joseph and Pamela Wheelock Robinson. She earned a B.S. in biology from the University of Michigan in 1899, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She then worked at Vassar College, where she taught in the Botany Department. Enrolling at Columbia University in she had received an M.A. by 1904 and earned her Ph.D. by 1912 after "much hard work cataloging ferns in Hawaii."[6]

She was named the first dean of the College where she worked as an administrator, an educator and the live-in Resident Dean for the 48 female students of the first-year class. In the early 1920’s she accompanied a co-ed study abroad trip to France. [2]

Initially, she managed the College's only three female professors (Home Economics, Education, and Chemistry/Athletics) in addition to a secretary, a dorm matron and a security guard.[2]

In the College's early days, Robinson was the only woman able to cast a vote in the administrative committee of five. She retired in 1938.[2][6]

Honors
  • In 1940, the college's Science Hall was renamed in her honor.[2][7]
  • Archives of her papers can be found at the University of Delaware.[6]
  • Inducted into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women.[6]

Selected written works
  • Robinson, Winifred J. (September 1906). "The Filmy Ferns (Hymenophyllaceae)". The Plant World. 9 (9): 219–221. JSTOR 43476551.
  • Robinson, Winifred J. (May 1909). "Reproduction by Budding in Drosera". Torreya. 9 (5): 89–96. JSTOR 40594814.
  • Robinson, W. J. (1947). History of the Women's College of the University of Delaware, 1914-1938. University of Delaware.

References
  1. "Winifred J. Robinson Papers, 1912 - 1949". Manuscript and Archival Collections. University of Delaware. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  2. Cassman, Vicki (28 October 2014). "Dean Winifred J. Robinson". 100th Anniversary of the Women's College. University of Delaware. Retrieved 14 August 2018. She had a small liberal arts education, PHD in botany-received after much hard work cataloging ferns in Hawaii...
  3. Hoffecker, Carol E. (1994). Beneath Thy Guiding Hand: A History of Women at the University of Delaware (PDF). Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware. p. iii. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  4. "Robinson, Winifred J." Women's Voices. University of Michigan Bentley Library. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  5. "Robinson, Winifred Josephine (1867-)". Global Plants. JSTOR. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  6. "Winifred J. Robinson papers | Manuscript and Archival Collection Finding Aids". library.udel.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  7. "Robinson Hall | University Media Services". Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  8. International Plant Names Index.  W.J.Rob.
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