Hartwick College will honor the life, work, and memory of Dr. Winifred D. Wandersee the weekend of April 3 with the Wandersee Commemoration, a two-day celebration of women’s history in her honor.
The commemoration will begin at 4:45 p.m. Friday, when faculty, staff, students, and friends of the College will join Wandersee’s family in recognizing her contributions to the College with the dedication of the Wandersee Room in Golisano Hall.
A commemoration dinner later Friday will be followed by a keynote address at 7:30 p.m. in Stack Lounge, Dewar Union. Keynote speaker Kirstin Downey will present Frances Perkins: Her Continuing Legacy, a discussion of her recently released biography, The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience.
Downey (left), an award-winning journalist for the Washington Post, visited public and private archives throughout the United States, England, and Switzerland to uncover long-overlooked documents that revealed Perkins’ importance. Downey’s biographical look at Perkins was compiled through interviews with dozens of people and research with documents that had been previously lost, misplaced, or stolen. Among the documents Downey worked with were Wandersee’s notes and papers for her own planned book, Be Ye Stedfast: Frances Perkins and the Ambivalent Legacy of Gender Politics. Downey’s talk on April 3 will be dedicated to Wandersee. She also will hold a book signing from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at The Green Toad Bookstore, 198 Main Street, Oneonta.
On Saturday, April 4, a series of student and faculty panel discussions will focus on student research and Hartwick community perspectives on gender studies, women’s studies, family policies, and politics—themes Wandersee was passionate about. A third panel will honor Wandersee’s life and work.
A consummate teacher and scholar, Wandersee was a beloved colleague, leader, and mentor both on and off the Hartwick campus. She was an early recipient of the student-selected Margaret Bunn Award, co-founded the College’s Women’s Studies Program, was the first woman elected Faculty Chair, and served on Oneonta’s City Council. She authored two books and numerous articles, was the College’s first recipient of an NEH Fellowship, and was a core member of the first generation of dynamic women scholars in American History.
“The list of her achievements doesn’t do her justice,” Professor of History Peter Wallace said. “She had a rich, playful, and giving soul, and she mentored many of us. Her legacy of excellence in all aspects of Hartwick’s mission lives on.”
Professor of Anthropology David Anthony also recalled Wandersee's dedication to the College and its faculty: "I still think of Win pretty often, how brave she was being faculty chair and speaking to us all, even chiding us all, even when you could hear the tumor crowding every word she said. She just soldiered on being herself, and leading us in a good direction."
Wandersee passed away in 1994 after a heroic battle with cancer, leaving her lasting mark on the College community, including the Winifred D. Wandersee Scholar-in-Residence Award, given annually in her memory.
For more information about the Wandersee Commemoration schedule of activities, visit www.hartwick.edu/wanderseededication.xml or contact Alicia Fish, Director of Donor Relations, at (607) 431-4021 or fisha@hartwick.edu.
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Hartwick College is a private liberal arts and sciences college of 1,480 students, located in Oneonta, NY in the northern foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Hartwick’s expansive Liberal Arts in Practice curriculum merges traditional liberal arts study, personalized teaching, and experiential learning approaches to emphasize Connecting the Classroom to the World. Add to that a wide range of off-campus internships, collaborative research, study-abroad opportunities, and a unique January Term, and Hartwick prepares students for the world ahead. Strong financial aid and scholarship programs keep a Hartwick education affordable.
Contact: Jennifer Moritz
E-mail: moritzj@hartwick.edu
Phone: 607-431-4038
