An Exhibition of the Development and Impact of Higher Education in Astronomy for Women at the University of Michigan
Agnes Ermina Wells
Ph.D. in Astronomy (1924)
Agnes Ermina Wells (born January 4,1876, Saginaw, Michigan, U.S.- died July 7, 1959, Saginaw, Michigan, U.S.) was an accomplished astronomer, mathematician, educator, dean, and advocate for women’s rights.
Early Life & Education
Wells was born to Edgar S. and Julia H. Comstock Wells. She attended Arthur Hill High School and, upon graduation, spent a year at the Saginaw County Training School for Teachers and taught at Stone School. Wells then traveled to Dredsen, Germany, for another year to study music.(1) Deciding to continue her education, she attended Bryn Mawr College and the University of Michigan to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in 1903, a Master of Arts in Astronomy from Carleton College in 1916, and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Michigan in 1924. Her doctor’s thesis was a study of the “Relative Proper Motion of Radial Velocities of the Stars in the Pleiades Group”. This dissertation was completed under the Detroit Observatory’s Director Ralph Hamilton Curtiss.
Career Path
In 1904, Agnes Ermina Wells became Principal of Crystal Falls High School in Michigan. Then, from 1905-06, she became a teacher of Mathematics at Duluth High School in Minnesota. This experience paved the way for her promotion to the head of the Mathematics Department at Duluth High from 1907-1914. It was in 1915 that Wells spent a year as an instructor of Mathematics at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. After receiving her Ph.D. in Astronomy in 1924, Wells decided it was time to take a different career path. At the University of Michigan Dormitory, she was a Social Director in the Helen Newberry Residence from 1917-18. Within this time frame, Wells also became the acting dean of women at the University of Michigan. By 1919, she moved states to become the dean of women and lecturer in mathematics at Indiana University. It was there that Wells established the first two women’s dormitories and founded the Association of Women Students. In 1938, she retired as dean, but remained as a mathematics instructor until 1944.(2)
"She has a string of degrees, scholastic honors and memberships in educational and Greek letter societies as long as your arm" - Muskegon Chronicle (3)
Avocations
In addition to her many educational appointments, Agnes Ermina Wells was also a member of a plethora of organizations, clubs, and societies. She belonged to Phi Beta Kappa (national scholastic honorary), Sigma Xi (national scientific organization), Gamma Phi Beta (social sorority), Pi Lambda Theta, Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society of the Daughters of the War of 1812, the Business and Professional Women, American Association of Deans of Women, American Association of University Professors, the National Education Association, Indiana School Women’s Club, and Woman’s Club of Bloomington, Indiana. Notable leadership positions she held were Chairman of the National Woman’s Party, President of the Michigan society, President of the American Association of Deans of Women, first Vice President of the American Association of University Professors, State President and National Vice President of the American Association of University Women, and President of the Indiana State Federation of Business and Professional Women.(2)
"People who argue about the woman's place being in the home often overlook the unmarried woman; who unless she has wealth, must go out and earn her own living." -Agnes Ermina Wells (3)
Women's Rights Advocate
A Constitutional Revision
In 1920, a constitutional amendment gave women the right to vote. However, Agnes Ermina Wells did not believe that this amendment adequately recognized women’s rights. In her acceptance speech as the new chairman of the National Woman’s party in 1949, she described how astounded she was by the idea that few people knew about the past century’s legislation that deemed women as “not persons” and, therefore, not entitled to the same rights as men. Her argument against advocates of the idea that “a woman belonged in the home” was that it overlooked the unmarried woman who, without wealth, was otherwise unable to earn her own living. In her opinion, it was time that women confronted the situations in which they were being restricted because of their sex. Under Wells’ authority, the National Woman’s Party fought for a revision of the constitutional amendment.
This revision was that “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress and the several states shall have power, within their respective jurisdictions, to enforce this article by appropriate legislation”(2). This constitutional amendment to guarantee equal rights was deemed unsuccessful in 1950 when, despite receiving a two-thirds favorable vote in the senate (65-19), was unable to reach the House of Representatives and receive ratification.
Later Life & Death
After stepping down from the position of Chairman of the National Woman’s Party, Wells returned to her birthplace in Saginaw, Michigan to live with her sister, Florence E. Wells. She remained there until July 7, 1959 when, at the age of 83, Agnes Ermina Wells died after a long illness in St. Luke’s Hospital.
A Lasting Legacy
In 1971, twelve years after her death, Wells was inducted into the Saginaw Hall of Fame. (3) Throughout her life, Agnes Ermina Wells was known for her interesting and ornate career path. Before her retirement in 1944, she was regarded on a national scale as a major authority on women’s guidance and housing. Even Hazel Marie Losh, a fellow University of Michigan Graduate in Astronomy (also class of 1924), detailed in the University of Michigan Alumnae Council Survey how she believed Agnes Ermina Wells to be one of the “most outstanding women who have ever at any time attended the University of Michigan, considered from the standpoint of human service”(4). In large part due to Wells’ efforts, a one million dollar fellowship fund for the American Association of University Women was established. Her work in women’s rights is still being commemorated to this day. This is because in 1951, a portrait bust was presented by the American Society of Achievement Memorials for Women to the National Women’s Party in Wells’ honor. It now stands among other accomplished women leaders in the National Woman’s Party Fine Art Collection in Washington. (5)