Sara Z. MacDonald - University Women - A History of Women and Higher Education in Canada

The Carleton Library Series publishes books about Canadian economics, geography, history, politics, public policy, society and culture, and related topics, in the form of leading new scholarship and reprints of classics in these fields. The series is funded by Carleton University, published by McGill-Queens University Press, and is under the guidance of the Carleton Library Series Editorial Board, which consists of faculty members of Carleton University. Suggestions and proposals for manuscripts and new editions of classic works are welcome and may be directed to the Carleton Library Series Editorial Board c/o the Library, Carleton University, Ottawa KIS 5B6, at .

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(New Edition) Leonard Marsh

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246 Beardmore The Viking Hoax That Rewrote History

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247 Stanleys Dream The Medical Expedition to Easter Island

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248 Change and Continuity Canadian Political Economy in the New Millennium

Edited by Mark P. Thomas, Leah F. Vosko, Carlo Fanelli, and Olena Lyubchenko

249 Home Feelings Liberal Citizenship and the Canadian Reading Camp Movement

Jody Mason

250 The Art of Sharing The Richer versus the Poorer Provinces since Confederation

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251 Recognition and Revelation Short Nonfiction Writings

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252 Anxious Days and Tearful Nights Canadian War Wives during the Great War

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253 Take a Number How Citizens Encounters with Government Shape Political Engagement

Elisabeth Gidengil

254 Mrs Dalgairnss Kitchen Rediscovering The Practice of Cookery

Edited by Mary F. Williamson

255 Blacks in Canada A History, Third Edition

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256 Hall-Dennis and the Road to Utopia Education and Modernity in Ontario

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257 University Women A History of Women and Higher Education in Canada

Sara Z. MacDonald

Sara Z. MacDonald

A History of Women and Higher Education in Canada

CARLETON LIBRARY SERIES 257

McGill-Queens University Press

Montreal & Kingston | London | Chicago

McGill-Queens University Press 2021

ISBN 978-0-2280-0863-7 (cloth)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0864-4 (paper)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0990-0 (ePDF)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0991-7 (ePUB)

Legal deposit fourth quarter 2021

Bibliothque nationale du Qubec

Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free (100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free

This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Title: University women : a history of women and higher education in Canada / Sara Z. MacDonald.

Names: MacDonald, Sara Z., author.

Series: Carleton library series ; 257.

Description: Series statement: Carleton library series ; 257 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210261420 | Canadiana (ebook) 20210261528 | ISBN 9780228008637 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780228008644 (softcover) | ISBN 9780228009900 (PDF) | ISBN 9780228009917 (ePUB)

Subjects: LCSH: Women college studentsCanadaHistory. | LCSH: Women in higher educationCanadaHistory. | LCSH: College studentsCanadaHistory. | LCSH: Education, HigherCanadaHistory.

Classification: LCC LC1571.C2 M33 2021 | DDC 378.1/98220971dc23

For Anna and Zoe

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In the fall of 1959, my mother got on a train to the west coast to attend university, the first in her family to do so. Her own mother anxiously saw her off, proud but also a little envious. She herself had left school early, like many girls of her time, because her family needed her to work. Ive thought of my mother and grandmothers often when writing this book, about the historical conditions that shape different lives, the opportunities denied and opportunities gained. I owe more than I can say to my parents, Robert Hugh MacDonald and Joanna Ostrow MacDonald, who both died in 2018. They were writers and readers, and showed me, in their different ways, how the past can be an exciting and real venture into other peoples lives. I am deeply grateful for my family, my wonderful family, small but mighty as my daughters say: Diana MacDonald, Phoebe Henighan, Stephen Henighan, Lorena Leija, Julian Henighan, Leonora Henighan, Jenny MacDonald, David McLennan, and Jordan Courchesne. I am fortunate to share my life with another historian, my husband David Leeson, who listens patiently while I rage at Goldwin Smith, helps me talk through ideas, and gives me coffee and good advice. This book is dedicated to my darling girls, Anna Burke and Zoe Burke, who inspire me and give me joy every single day. You all made sure I finished this book, and your support means everything to me.

The Department of History at Laurentian University is a good place to work, and my fellow historians are also my friends. I thank my colleagues, especially Rose-May Dmor, who kept us all going, and Linda Ambrose, Janice Liedl, and Todd Webb, who generously shared knowledge, sources, and encouragement. I thank my friends Shelbey Krahn, Lisa Pasternak, Martin Horn, and Patty Ross for getting me though some dark days. During the period of moving boxes and upheaval that marked my mothers illness, I thank my friends David Borwick, Karyn Curtis, Karen Good, and Sue Neilson for their help and good company. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support I have received in the form of research grants from the Laurentian University Research Fund. Ryan Wildgoose was an excellent research assistant during several summers. I am indebted to the students at Laurentian over the years, many of whom were the first in their families to attend university. I also wish to acknowledge the late E. Lisa Panayotidis for influencing the ideas of this book in countless ways. Lisas interdisciplinary research pushed the history of higher education into new and exciting areas, and I benefited greatly from her generosity and enthusiasm for scholarship.