San Francisco State University - Franciscan Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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To Dean Ward When Mary Ward retires from active service as dean of women in July, her presence will still be felt on campus, for she, perhaps more than anyone else, in her 44 years of association with this college, has estab- the precedent offriendliness that exists here at State. Perhaps the best description of her is one that Dr. Leonard made. Dean Ward, he said, has a skill, a gentleness, and a firmness pos- sessed by only a few people, and she has always used them for the ad- vantage of youth. Behind her name lies a list of firsts .' First fand onlyl dean of women atStateg first director of summer session, first counselor ofKappa Delta Pi, honorary international coeducational fraternity, and organizer of it on this campus in 1932.

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During her years of service here she has worked with all student boards and kzdministrative committees. No one knows the history and the essenceof State better than'sh'e, forhshe has watched and aided its growth from its small beginning as a teacher training school, composed primarily of women, to its present size of 5200. She has served side by side with its four presidents, through a depression and two world wars, and the influx of veterans. She remembers when teachers had to sub on the football team, and Dir. Knuth had to dash from one instrument to another when the orchestra gave a performance. She remembers the time, before enrollment reached 2000, when she knew by name every student on campus. However, that for which Dean Ward will always be remembered is her fight to promote understanding. It was because she didn't understand the language of her arithmetic text when she was a small girl, that she decided to become a teacher. Someday, when l'm older, l'll write one that children can under- stand, she vowed. And she did. V After her graduation here in 1905, she became assistant instructor in teacher training at this college. It was then, after many revisions, that she wrote a series of texts called Self Instruction Arithmetic Series which were used as bulletins in California and other states and were finally published in book form by Rand McNally and Company in 1917. These were the first self-instruction work books for children. To- day they are common. Mary Ward became dean of women in 1915 and her basic aim was still to promote understanding. She wanted to understand her students and to help them with their problems. Q The students of State will always remember her for her sincere in- terest and her personal acquaintance with them through her rainy day fund. Her deep concern for their personal problems, when these were brought to her attention, have won their admiration, affection, and grati- tude. She herself has only one regret: that she didn't have longer days in which to help students with their private problems. I don't consider that 1 have done any service but that it's been a privilege to have met so many young people and to have been of help in some slight way to many, she says smilingly. Dean Ward, we feel that you have done a great service and with sin- cere appreciation for all your efforts and with regret for your leaving, we dedicate this 1951 STATESIDE to you. The precedent of sincere friendliness which you established will always be a part of State College.