MARY EVELYN WELLS
1881 - 1965
Most of you present today never heard of Mary Evelyn Wells. Few
of you knew her personally. Some of you remember her as a distin-
guished senior colleague, for you were but young instructors when
she became Professor Emeritus of Mathematics in 1948. Yet Vassar
College owes much of its present distinction to women such as Miss
Wells.
Miss Wells was first and foremost a mathematician, "Euclidean in
her approach to life," as one friend characterized her. Her pre-
sentation of mathematics had depth and was sound, with that nice
blend of scholarliness and integrity that students are so quick to
recognize. But it was something more; for in its own way it was a
work of art -- the work of a master-teacher. How many of us, like
Mary Wells, can so enthrall students that they do not hear the
sound of the bell at the end of the class hour? Her gift of humor,
fairmindedness and inexhaustible energy, her discretion, loyalty to
colleagues, selflessness, sense of the "wholeness" of the Vassar com-
munity and what it worked for are the qualities that gained for her
the respect and confidence of her colleagues and inevitably led to
service on committee after committee.
As a long-time member of the Committee on Admission, Miss Wells was
adamant in her rejection of candidates unfortunate enough to have
acquired even one low score, whatever the field. To quote her:
"Vassar College is able to get students who can; why take those who
can't?" President MacCracken comments that perhaps this was one of
the times in which numbers really got in Miss Wells‘ way. Though
a person of strong convictions, she was a firm believer in democratic
processes. She fought for her beliefs, but when defeated, worked with
equal vigor to uphold the decision of the majority.
Miss Wells came to Vassar College in l9l5, the year in which President
MacCracken was inaugurated. A graduate of Mount Holyoke, she held
both the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago where
she had worked under Professor E. H. Moore, a rare distinction for any
young mathematician, especially a woman. She had already taught for
five years at Mount Holyoke, and, as acting Associate Professor, for
another year at Oberlin. She was, however, appointed to and accepted
an instructorship at Vassar, a rank which she held for five years. At
this time mathematics was a required course for freshmen, and Miss Wells
was assigned to teach six of these sections. Later promotions came
rapidly for that era; at the age of forty-seven she became a full
professor and served the college in this capacity for twenty more
years.
MARY EVELYN WELLS (Continued)
Along with her dedication to mathematics and to teaching, Miss
Wells had interests beyond the confines of the campus. Perhaps
her greatest enthusiasm outside Vassar was centered on India.
In 1926, she was invited to the University of Madras as Head of
the Department of Mathematics. This experience gave her a last-
ing love for that country and an awareness of its problems. She
returned to Madras in 1936-37 and continued to serve actively as
a trustee of the University long after her retirement from Vassar
College. Almost certainly, it was only love for her family and
sensitivity to their needs that kept her from going back to India.
Indeed, her devotion to her family was marked throughout her life.
A younger sister and lively nephews enjoyed many a summer at her
home in Maine.
This, then, is the woman to whom we pause to pay tribute: a woman
whose stern sense of devotion to her profession led her to great
distinction as a mathematician and teacher; a person committed to
the highest ideal of a Vassar education; and one whose dynamic
influence still remains with many associates and students.
Mildred Campbell
Edward Linner
Mary Sague
Winifred Asprey, Chairman
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