Dorothy F. Leet, 1894 – 1994

Dorothy Flagg Leet led Reid Hall from 1927 to 1938, and again from 1946 to 1964. A remarkable individual, her accomplishments deserve more recognition than the brief mention they often receive. Although she was widely admired and celebrated during her lifetime, her legacy, like those of many women who lived and worked at Reid Hall, has largely remained in the shadows. The very existence of Reid Hall—firmly rooted in French-American relations and devoted to education, research, and the advancement of women in both fields—is due in no small part to her visionary leadership. While Elisabeth Mills Reid and later her daughter-in-law, Helen Rogers Reid, subsidized the property, it was Leet’s tireless dedication that brought it to life. As Helen Raebeck Rachlin (Barnard `38) aptly summarized in her alumna profile, “To several generations of Barnard students, and indeed of college women from all countries of the world, Dorothy Leet and Reid Hall have been virtually synonymous.” (Barnard Alumnae Magazine, 1956, 9).

Leet herself recognized this deep connection. When the question of her successor arose in 1959, she expressed a profound affection for Reid Hall and its leaders, whom she considered her "family." (Letter to Reid, March 4, 1959):

I am sure you know that it is agonizing for me even to think of the time when I cannot "do" for Reid Hall, but my belief in it and what it can do are so strong that I certainly want to find the best person for its next stage (Letter to Reid, February 12, 1959).

Born in New York City on December 18, 1894, Dorothy was the second daughter of George Edwin Leet and Ada Pauline Winsor. Her father, a businessman and vestryman at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, was also a direct descendant of William Leete, Governor of the New Haven Colony. Dorothy adopted her grandmother Jennie E. Flagg’s surname as her middle name, a tribute to their close relationship (Femmes Diplômées, Feb. Arch 1956, n.9, 1-2). Her older sister, Helen Winsor Leet, born on August 9, 1893, attended Barnard College as well, graduating alongside Dorothy. The 1917 Barnard yearbook listed their home address as 409 West 129th Street. Helen later became a teacher of English and Latin in various private schools in the New York area. A Barnard alumna made a point of comparing Helen to her younger sister in the 1933 issue of the 1933 Barnard College Alumnae Monthly:

Also I think that while we all know Dorothy Leet and the glory she reflects on Barnard, you are missing something in not checking up on the career of less well-known sister, Helen Leet, 1917. She has just been elected president of the Private School Teachers Association, affectionately called by her friends the "Private Ass."  She takes it very seriously and this summer, when we were abroad, was doing some interesting research for it (16).

At Barnard, Dorothy studied economics and actively participated in several organizations, including the Glee Club, Young Women’s Christian Association, Athletic Association, Undergraduate Association, and the College Settlements Association, which focused on outreach to low-income families. Both she and her sister took part annually in the chorus and dance sections of the Barnard Greek Games, with Dorothy serving as chair of the event in 1917.

Following her graduation, Dorothy began working in the Secretary’s office at Barnard, where she advised students on housing and social activities. She also joined the newly established International Federation of University Women (IFUW), an organization she would later represent at UNESCO and eventually lead as president from 1953 to 1956.

From her days as a student to her roles as a Barnard employee and later as the head of Reid Hall, Dorothy developed a close working relationship with Virginia Gildersleeve, the Dean of Barnard College. Together, they worked to build and sustain a network of international women while advancing Reid Hall’s educational mission. In 1950, Gildersleeve praised Leet’s acumen in an article about Reid Hall for the American Society Legion of Honor Magazine:

She came to us in her youth in 1924 as Secretary of Reid Hall. Soon she was Acting Director and then Director, so that for twelve years before World War II she guided the destiny of our Centre. A graduate of Barnard College, with a good background of travel in Europe and America, she had had but little active experience in international affairs before coming to Reid Hall; but she quickly learned the intricate web of life in Paris and the relationships between nations, institutions, government departments, groups of all kinds, and piloted our ship with remarkable wisdom, vision and tact. […] Reid Hall is very largely her creation" (317-318).

Leet first arrived in Paris to work as secretary to Louisa K. Fast, the inaugural Director of the American University Women’s Club, later renamed Reid Hall in 1928 in honor of its patroness. When Fast was compelled to resign in 1927, Leet stepped in as the Club’s second director, guiding Reid Hall through the challenges of the Great Depression and the turbulent 1930s. Her leadership transformed Reid Hall into a flourishing center of French-American cultural exchange, attracting prominent lecturers and guests from the international realms of art, science, literature, and public affairs.

As global tensions mounted toward another devastating war, Leet resigned from her role in 1938 and became Secretary of the Foreign Policy Association in New York. She appointed her loyal assistant of ten years, Wellesley alumna Sara D. Porter, as her successor. Porter, however, only remained for a few months, leaving in late 1938 to become secretary to the President of the American Foreign Policy Association in Washington—a role she held until 1950 (NYT, December 5, 1980).

Throughout the war, Leet dedicated herself to promoting international cooperation amid the profound challenges of global conflict. In 1943, she addressed a Barnard College Forum on “Some Dangers in American Public Opinion,” opened by Dean Gildersleeve and Helen Rogers Reid. Leet urged the audience to avoid making lofty moral statements without fully understanding their implications and warned against imposing American perspectives and institutions on other countries.

In the wake of World War II, Dorothy Leet was entrusted with the mission of assessing Reid Hall's condition in Paris and determining how it could best serve American students and scholars.

After resigning from her position in New York in 1946, she agreed to stay in Paris as President of Reid Hall. One of her first actions was to re-establish the French chapter of the IFUW at 4 rue de Chevreuse and to support its initiatives. Recognizing the rise of new study-abroad programs in the post-war era, Leet seized the opportunity to make Reid Hall a central destination for American students in France. She frequently visited U.S. campuses to speak about Reid Hall's mission, reaching out to established study programs and inviting students to live and even take classes on-site. She also developed Reid Hall's own summer and annual academic programs, gradually transforming 4 rue de Chevreuse from a residential facility into a full-fledged study center, where several American colleges and universities would eventually base their administrative offices.

In the early 1950s, Reid Hall became co-educational, organizing specialized cultural activities for its male and female students, residents, colleagues, and friends. Until 1964, when the property was gifted to Columbia University, Reid Hall stood as the premier study-abroad site in France. During these years, Leet regularly reported to Dean Gildersleeve and Reid Hall’s Board of Directors in New York. Her reports and correspondence, preserved in Barnard’s archives, are remarkable for their clarity and sense of purpose.

Sara D. Porter returned to Paris to assist Leet from 1950 to 1964. Although documentation on Porter’s specific duties is sparse, she and Leet remained close, even traveling together throughout their lives. Porter passed away in 1980 at her home in Hightown, N.J., at the age of 86.

Leet was deeply involved not only in shaping Reid Hall’s programming but also in preserving and enhancing the property itself. She worked closely with architects, interior decorators, gardeners, and restaurateurs to ensure that the premises remained both functional and inviting. In the late 1920s, she oversaw the complete restoration of Reid Hall’s roofs, renovated the annex (now the Institute building), and revitalized the garden areas. Following World War II, she raised funds to once again upgrade the facilities, including the back garden. Visitors often remarked on the tastefully appointed common rooms and bedrooms, the dining room renowned for its French cuisine, and an ambiance where congeniality harmonized with decorum:

It is not happenstance, nor even the happy predispositions of all these young girls [who resided at Reid Hall], that defined the atmosphere of the Club. All the cordiality in freedom, it is to Miss Leet and to her alone that we owe it. On any occasion [...] she was there, always discreet, always smiling, always helpful, knowing how to offer a treat and ... a moratorium at the end of the month. She avoided or deflected all clashes because she understood the French as naturally as she understood her compatriot (translated from the French, Femmes diplômée, n° 53, 1965, 11).

Dorothy Leet’s life seemed to revolve around her “work,” which, by all accounts, she pursued with relentless energy. Those who knew her often described her as a formidable force, thoroughly driven by her responsibilities and tasks. Helen Raebeck Rachlin highlighted this intense dedication to her work ethic in an alumna profile (Barnard Alumnae Bulletin 1956):

“Since even this partial listing of her activities adds up to a schedule for at least two people, Miss Leet meets that problem by frequently putting in two days work in one. ‘Many times I sit down at my desk after dinner to work,’ Miss Leet commented, ‘and when I am through, and draw open the curtains, I see that the sun is already lighting the rooftops” (9).

Leet’s Barnard yearbook from 1917 captures an early glimpse of her character, with the caption beneath her photo reading, “Fire that’s closest kept burns most of all,” a line from Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona( Mortarboard, 1917, page).This quote seems to reflect her reserved and private nature. While her professional correspondence and records are well-preserved, personal photos, letters, and other intimate artifacts have not survived. The nature of her relationship with Sara Porter remains ambiguous, though their decades-long association, shared travels, and eventual retirement together in New Jersey suggest a deep and lasting partnership.

Despite the guardedness surrounding her private life, Leet’s public persona was known to be warm and radiant, celebrated in both American and French circles. She was admired not only for her kindness toward Reid Hall residents but also for her exceptional administrative and leadership skills, qualities that endured throughout her career. The Board of Directors’ meeting minutes from November 11, 1931, attest to her many accomplishments:

As there were a number of members present who had stayed at Reid Hall during the past year Mrs Reid [Helen Rogers Reid] asked that they tell of their impressions […] They were unanimous in praise of Miss Leet. They said she had accomplished marvels; that she gave herself unstintingly to the interests of the Club and to the care of those staying there; that she is admired and liked by the French; that she is a most capable representative of the Club in the various circles in Paris and a charming hostess. [...] It was said that the atmosphere was delightful and homelike; the dining room well run and the food so good that it spoiled them for Switzerland’s hotels. […].

These words were echoed in Barnard Professor Clare Howard’s description of her visit to Reid Hall:

Grace and quiet are in this house. The personality of Dorothy Leet fits it and preserves it. Whether your fancy plays round her, as she crosses the courtyard, in suggestions which make of her a comtesse, or an abbess, or a Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur, by me she is always remembered as a nymph in Greek Games – a nymph in green with long golden hair, who danced more beautifully than any I have ever seen since (October 1934 issue of the Barnard College Alumnae Monthly Magazine, 12) [reference to the Barnard Greek games in which Leet danced.]

Leet’s influence extended far beyond the walls of 4 rue de Chevreuse, yet she consistently promoted Reid Hall’s mission to the diverse array of people she encountered. Her fluency in French, English, Italian, and German (Herald Tribune, April 26, 1934) further facilitated her advocacy. Over her remarkable four-decade career, she founded or actively participated in numerous Franco-American and international organizations, which reflected her dedication to women’s education, social reform, and global engagement (Herald Tribune, April 26, 1934 page).

Leet served as a tireless ambassador, traveling extensively to recruit and engage with groups worldwide and to organize congresses that fostered the exchange of ideas. A seasoned traveler, she visited most European countries, including France, Italy, Switzerland, England, Belgium, Holland, and Spain, as well as the Eastern Mediterranean, journeying across Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey. As president of the IFUW from 1953 to 1956, she visited nearly all 54 member associations across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the 1950s and 1960s, she also made numerous recruiting trips to the United States, touring over thirty colleges and universities to attract students to study and immerse themselves in the cultural richness of France.

Through her extensive travels and involvement with the IFUW, American women's colleges and clubs, and various French associations, Leet cultivated a vast global network of politicians, academics, and socialites. She frequently invited a wide range of individuals to Reid Hall, not only as residents and guest speakers but also as attendees for receptions, luncheons, teas, and dinners. She ensured that students, residents, and friends had ample opportunities to engage, regularly inviting them to participate in the diverse activities she organized both at Reid Hall and around Paris:

In a quiet way the Director finds out the special interest of a guest, who somehow meets just the right person in Paris to open all doors leading to her hobby. Among the mazes of French officialdom, the one person who holds the key to certain manuscripts appears for tea or dinner at Reid Hall. A charming invitation often follows, and the student is shortly launched upon the richness of French intellectual life. This sometimes happens to students who live alone in hotels or families in Paris, but is usually a long and slow business. Here Dorothy Leet makes these invaluable contacts one of her primary occupations (Howard 12).

Leet was honored by the French government with an impressive five decorations for her contributions to international relations and education. In addition to these accolades, she received numerous honors from American institutions, including honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from Rutgers University and Smith College in June 1954.

Leet retired in 1964, coinciding with Helen Rogers Reid’s gift of 4 rue de Chevreuse to Columbia University. Shortly afterward, she and Miss Porter embarked on a world tour, beginning with a brief stay in Portugal. When they returned to Paris, the AFDU honored them with a farewell ceremony on February 26, 1965, including a dinner at UNESCO’s restaurant. Over 60 association members gathered to hear AFFDU President Mlle Marie Lainé’s tribute to Leet and Porter, celebrating Leet’s achievements and expressing gratitude for securing the Association’s headquarters at Reid Hall. The 1965 issue of the Association's bulletin, Femmes diplômées (n°53), was dedicated entirely to Reid Hall and Dorothy Leet.

In December 1965, Leet and Porter departed for New York.

Even after retiring, Leet remained involved with Reid Hall, serving as President Emerita on its Board of Directors and on the advisory group for the Sterling Currier Fund until her death at nearly 100 years of age. She returned to Paris and Reid Hall on multiple occasions, notably attending the celebration of Nadia Boulanger's 90th birthday in 1978.

Leet passed away on March 3, 1994, at Meadow Lakes Nursing Home in Hightstown, New Jersey. With no surviving family (Porter had passed away in Hightstown in 1980), Leet had meticulously planned for this eventuality. She requested no funeral service, asking instead for cremation and for her urn to be interred in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery.

She also left instructions for Reid Hall, Inc. to create the Dorothy F. Leet Fund, dedicated to supporting programs in Paris that promote Franco-American understanding.

Just as Leet had envisioned, Leet's endowment remains active today, continuing to support public programs at Reid Hall that foster French-American understanding.

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