Educational Center, 1947 – 1964
Reid Hall was returned to its American leadership on August 21, 1947 and resumed operations on September 1 of the same year. Dorothy Flagg Leet was once again at the helm, this time as President. She was assisted by Sarah Dorothy Porter from 1950 to 1964. Virginia Gildersleeve, who retired from her deanship at Barnard in 1947, continued to serve as president of Reid Hall's Board of Directors, corresponding regularly with Leet and other Board members.
Reid Hall's founding mission remained unchanged, bringing together Americans and their French counterparts and fostering cross-cultural interactions.
To that end, the Hall functioned as a residential facility for university women from all over the world; a cultural and social club, hosting innumerable speakers, conferences, and meetings; and a study-abroad center, welcoming a host of academic programs specifically designed for junior-year students from colleges and universities in the United States.
The Reid Hall Board of Directors and other benefactors financially supported many initiatives, including scholarships, subsidies for redecorating salons and bedrooms, sponsoring cultural events, and receiving students in their homes for tea, both in New York and Paris. One such endowment, the Caroline Slade Memorial Fund, was established in 1951 to support a lecture series and refurbish the gardens. The various academic programs on-site also contributed to social and cultural events.
Sources
The sources below also cover the information found in Residence for Students and Scholars and Social and Cultural Club:
- “An American Holiday Observed in Paris.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, November 23, 1951, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- “At Reid Hall.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, September 9, 1947, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- Burnet, Mary. “Newly Decorated Salons Inaugurated at Reid Hall.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, March 25, 1949, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- “Caffery Says American Policy is Based on Desire for Peace.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, February 13, 1948, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- “Caffery Says U.S. Strives for Peace.” New York Herald Tribune, February 13, 1948, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- Dimnet, Étienne. “Letter to an American Friend.” Vogue, February 15, 1954, n.p. RH archives, scrapbook.
- “France Honors Mrs. Reid.” New York Herald Tribune, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- Gildersleeve, Virginia. “Reid Hall in Paris.” American Legion of Honor Magazine. Reprint, RH archives.
- Gildersleeve, Virginia. Report to Members and other Friends of Reid Hall. June 7, 1948, pp. 2. Barnard Archives.
- Howard, Clare. “Projections: Dorothy Leet.” Barnard College Alumnae Monthly, October 1934, pp. 10-13. Barnard Digital Collections.
- Leet, Dorothy, F. "Paris Revisited." Barnard College Alumnae Magazine, Winter 1947, p. 5. Barnard Digital Collections.
- Leet, Dorothy, F. “University Women’s Centers Abroad.” Journal of the American Association of University Women, 1947, pp. 151-152. RH archives.
- Leet, Dorothy, F. Letter to Helen Rogers Reid. June 25, 1957. Reid Family Papers, box D 274.
- Leet, Dorothy F. Report to Members, 1960. Reid Family Papers, box D 274.
- Leet, Dorothy, F. Report to Members, 1961. Reid Family Papers, box D 274.
- Leet, Dorothy, F. Letter to Helen Rogers Reid. March 24, 1962. Reid Family Papers, box D 274.
- Leet, Dorothy, F. Report to Members, 1963. Reid Family Papers, box D 274.
- “Miss Leet Made Legion of Honor Officer.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, November 16, 1949, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- Percival, Nora Lourie, “A Jubilee Visit with ‘Miss Leet.” Barnard Alumnae Magazine, Spring 1975, pp. 10-12.
- Perlman, Anne. “Reid Hall, for U.S. Women, will Reopen in Paris on Sept. 1.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, July 15, 1947, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- Reid Hall: An American Educational Center.” New York Herald Tribune Directory, 1954, p. 20. RH archives, scrapbook.
- Reid Hall: Exposition d’art des étudiantes.” ARTS: Actualité artistique, vol. 10, March 27, 1952, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- Reid Hall Brochure, 1947, with an Appreciation by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- “Reid Hall Due for Reopening Next Summer.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, October 30, 1946, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- Reid Hall Guest Book. Reid Family Papers. Library of Congress.
- “Reid Hall in Paris to Get Decorator-Institute Gift.” New York Herald Tribune, Oct 28, 1947 p. 24. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
- “Reid Hall in Paris to Reopen in 1947.” The Sun, October 1946, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook
- “Reid Hall will Reopen in Paris early in 1947.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, October 5, 1946, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- “Reid Hall will Reopen in Paris early in 1947.” New York Herald Tribune, October 6, 1946, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- “Reid Hall in Paris to Reopen Sept. 1 for U.S. Women.” New York Herald Tribune, July 15, 1947, p. 19. Retrieved ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
- “Siegfried at Reid Hall.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, December 11, 1947, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.
- Stallings, Sylvia, “Paris for a Campus,” Harper's Bazaar, vol. 84, no. 2867, October 1950, p. 2. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
- “University Union Opens to Help U.S. Students.” New York Herald Tribune, Paris, September 2, 1947, n.p. Retrieved from RH archives, scrapbook.