My second reason is a private one rather than public. “First, President Chadbourne secured the appropriation for the building. When Birge was proposing renaming buildings after former presidents, naturally he thought it fitting to rename Ladies Hall to what it is now known as today – Chadbourne Hall.īirge explained his reasoning in a 1922 letter. She was particularly irked that, during a trip visiting with the “ridiculously young” alumni of the University at Philadelphia she had “been forced to recognize the fact that the name of John Bascom is quite unknown among them,” she wrote to UW President Edward Birge.īut they had heard of former president Paul Chadbourne, a bitter opponent of coeducation. He believed in the new science of psychology, and lectured and wrote numerous books and articles on the subject.Īnd he opposed the policy of separate classes for men and women, allowing co-education instruction at the university.įlorence, the youngest of his five children, was proud of her father’s legacy. Bascom taught rhetoric and English literature at Williams until he moved his wife and five children to Madison in 1874 when he became president of UW–Madison, serving until 1887.ĭuring his administration the university opened the first Agricultural Experimental Station, the School of Pharmacy, Washburn Observatory, Old Science Hall and Assembly Hall. He attracted more financial support and better teachers to the university. He graduated from Williams College in 1849 and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1855. John Bascom was born in Genoa, New York on May 1, 1827. This faith permeated all of his work, and one of his great influences was in his giving to the women of his time faith in their own powers.”
His attitude was one of profound faith in women. “Five years previously the first woman had received her degree from this university.
“John Bascom came to Wisconsin at the beginning of the period of co-education for men and women,” Josephine Sales Simpson, ’83 (that’s 1883), said at the ceremony. She proposed renaming University Hall in her father’s honor, and on June 22, 1920, a formal dedication took place.
Florence Bascom was proud of her father John Bascom because he was a strong early advocate for women in academia.
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