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xi acknowledgments The origins of this book can be traced to my experience as an undergraduate at Douglass College, Rutgers University, where I was first introduced to women’s history. It was in Dee Garrison’s women’s history survey class that I undertook the task of interviewing my grandmother for a project on women and World War II. Hearing her stories made me curious about the lives of other women of her generation, and to this end, I decided to conduct my senior honors thesis on the impact of the war on Douglass alumnae. As I scoured student newspapers, yearbooks, and various manuscript materials, I was amazed at the number of stories detailing the wartime recruitment of women into scientific fields. After enrolling in the Ph.D. program in women ’s history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I embarked on what would eventually become a full-scale investigation of this topic. While working on this project, I enjoyed the support and assistance of numerous individuals and organizations. First, I would like to acknowledge those institutions that generously funded my work. Its early stages were supported by a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in Women’s Studies, a Schlesinger Library Grant from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, a Mowry Research Award from the University of North Carolina’s Department of History, an Off-Campus Research Fellowship from the University of North Carolina’s Graduate School, and a Spencer Fellowship for Research Related to Education. My new institutional home, Christopher Newport University, provided additional support. I am especially indebted to history department chairs Phillip Hamilton and Eric Duskin, deans of the College of Arts and Humanities Steven Breese and Lori Underwood, and provost Mark Padilla and his office. Their assistance made possible not only extended research trips to new archives and publication funds but also a year-long academic leave that allowed me to accept an American Association of University Women Postdoctoral Research Fellowship . Without the support of these individuals, offices, and organizations, the completion of this book would not have been possible. I am also grateful to the archivists, librarians, and other individuals who helped me make my way through countless documents and the research xii | Acknowledgments process. The staff at the American Association of University Women Archives , the Karnes Archives and Special Collections at Purdue, the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Institute Archives and Special Collections at MIT, the National Archives at College Park, the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs Archives, and the Rockefeller Archive Center provided invaluable guidance. In particular , I would like to thank Donald Glassman and Martha Tenney at the Barnard College Archives; Eisha Neely at the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections at Cornell; Diana Carey, Sarah Hutcheon, Jane Knowles, and Ellen Shea at the Radcliffe Institute’s Schlesinger Library; Tom Frusciano at Rutgers University’s Special Collections and University Archives; Troy Eller English and Deborah Rice at Wayne State University’s Walter P. Reuther Library; and Tanya Zanish-Belcher at Iowa State University’s Special Collections Department. Friends and family members who opened their homes to me during long research trips include Fran and George Anderson , Jan and Neal Butler, Melissa Skwira and Mark Morency, Sandra VanBurkleo, and Katya Varlamova. I am incredibly appreciative for their hospitality and generosity. Back at home, I benefited from the reference and technical assistance of Amy Boykin, Susan Barber, Beth Young, Johnnie Gray, and Jesse Spencer. Helen Haller of Sigma Delta Epsilon–Graduate Women in Science also furnished me with materials from her files. Jennifer Fitzpatrick in Christopher Newport University’s Department of History provided invaluable clerical help at regular intervals and crucial moments. This book has also benefited tremendously from the thoughtful feedback of friends and colleagues. Graduate school compatriots René Luis Alvarez, Anna Bailey, David L. Davis, Anne-Lise Halvorsen, Pam Lach, Hilary Marcus , Katie Otis, Nancy Schoonmaker, and Tomoko Yagyu read and commented on early drafts. So did a number of professors at UNC who advised me on various stages of the project, such as Peter Filene, Jerma Jackson, Michael Hunt, Sylvia Hoffert, Jim Leloudis, and Catherine Marshall. I am grateful for their wise counsel. Andrew Falk, Amanda Herbert, Gwen Kay, Sally Gregory Kohlstedt, Laura McEnaney, Chris Ogren, Kathy Peiss, and Leandra Zarnow also offered astute comments on later conference papers and chapter drafts. Margaret Rossiter’s influence is especially felt, both through her written work and her personal encouragement. Unfailingly generous...

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