The chair, honoring Harvard's first woman dean, will be held by Carol Gilligan

In a commitment to continuing research on the development of gender identity, four women with close ties to the Graduate School of Education have joined together to endow a professorship at the School.

The Patricia Albjerg Graham Chair in Gender Studies is the University's first in gender studies, the School's first named for a woman, and the School's first chair funded solely by women. The professorship honors Graham, who served as Dean of the Graduate School of Education from 1982 to 1991. She was the first woman to serve as dean of a school at Harvard.

The chair will be held by tenured professor Carol Gilligan, whose pioneering research on women's and girls' psychological and moral development inspired the gift.

"I can't imagine a more glorious confluence of intellectual interest, passion, and activism," says Jerome T. Murphy, Dean of the School. "It's particularly fitting that this initiative was sparked by alumnae, was embraced by women who have provided leadership to the School, and celebrates a beloved and accomplished dean. Our entire community has been moved and inspired by this gift."

The $2.5 million endowment is the gift of Elisabeth A. Hobbs, EdM '61, Emily H. Fisher, EdM '61, Nancy Aronson, and one other donor who prefers to remain anonymous. While Hobbs and Fisher did not know one another during school, the two became friends while serving on the School's Visiting Committee and found they shared a common enthusiasm for the work of Gilligan and Assistant Professor Annie Rogers.

The impetus for the chair came in 1994 when Fisher read an article by Rogers in the Harvard Education Review. The study focused on the importance of sustaining girls' "voices" -- their self-confidence and a unique way of viewing the world -- through adolescence and into adulthood.

During the next three years, Hobbs and Fisher set out to learn more about the subject, attending classes and meeting with faculty. Out of their study grew a desire to develop the professorship.

According to the donors, the chair represents a new wave in women's philanthropy, in which groups of individuals collaborate to support research that is important to them.

"In addition to recognizing faculty contributions, we wanted to give the subject permanence and visibility," says Fisher. "It is gratifying to me that one of the School's areas of great strength and high national regard -- the work on gender -- is now being given its due at Harvard."

The chair has been named for former Dean Patricia Albjerg Graham, who holds the Charles Warren Professorship of the History of American Education at the School. Graham was an early leader in research on the experience of women in academic life.

According to both Hobbs and Fisher, she gave the School a renewed sense of purpose during her tenure as Dean. "As the School's and Harvard's first woman dean, Pat proved to be an outstanding leader," says Hobbs. "She led the School to its current prominent position."

A $500,000 grant from the Spencer Foundation adds to the chair's impact. In July, the Foundation's board of directors awarded the grant to the Graduate School of Education to establish the Patricia Albjerg Graham Professorship Research Fund. The board's intent was to recognize and supplement the School's successful effort to create an endowed chair in Graham's honor.

Spencer Foundation board chair Mary Patterson McPherson said, "The Foundation is particularly pleased to contribute to the success of an initiative which emphasizes so many 'firsts' at Harvard. I know that Pat was surprised by the gift, which recognizes her many contributions to higher education, particularly those related to women's experiences in higher education."

The School celebrated the new endowments by hosting a forum on gender issues on Sept. 22. Gilligan appeared on the panel along with Gloria Steinem, Geoffrey Canada, Wendy Puriefoy, Vivian Gussin Paley, Barney Brawer, and Terrence Real.