Eleanor F. Dolan papers

Biographical note

Eleanor Frances Dolan was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 30, 1907, the daughter of Harry Francis Roby and Lillie Eleanor (McFall) Dolan. She has one sister, Elizabeth M. Dolan of New York City. Eleanor F. Dolan received a B.A. (1927) from Wellesley College and her M.A. (1928) and Ph.D. (1935) from Radcliffe College. She served as an intern at Niantic Reformatory for Women, administrative assistant at Stephens College, secretary and research assistant in the Department of Government of Harvard University, and a Carnegie Scholar before accepting political science teaching positions at Florida State College for Women, 1938 -1939, and New York University, 1939 - 1941. In 1941 Dr. Dolan became professor of government and dean of Flora Stone Mather College for Women of Western Reserve University, positions she held until 1950 when she joined the national staff of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). As a specialist for higher education with the AAUW from 1950 - 1967, Dr. Dolan represented women’s interests at many professional and other meetings, organized and managed an information retrieval service for women as well as a placement service in higher education for women, and wrote and edited Women’s Education. In addition, she organized and managed the AAUW’s program for returning college women that provided financial aid to universities to prepare these women for professional positions in higher education. Financed by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, this program was one of the first to identify and assist mature women back into the work force. Dr. Dolan traveled widely in implementing the program and wrote the 15-year evaluation of the project, ""With Half a Life to Live”. During this period she also authored many articles on higher education for women in professional journals.