Judith Ann Schiff is chief research archivist at the Yale University Library.
Manuscripts and archives
Ellen Battell Stoeckel shown here with her husband, Carl, and their dogs gave the university her estate. It is now a bucolic retreat for the Yale Norfolk Summer Schools of Music and Art. View full image
Although Yale was all-male until 1869, women have been generous donors to Yale for three centuries. Their innovative gifts include the first scholarship for African Americans, a music school, facilities for the modern study of geology, a tuberculosis hospital, and a model residential college featuring an iconic landmark tower. Here, we recognize just a few of the many women whose gifts have enabled Yale to fulfill and expand its educational mission.