Lloyd, Alice Crocker

By the action of the Regents of the University of Michigan, taken at their meeting on March 7, Miss Alice C. Lloyd, ’16, became Dean of Women, bringing to amend the advisory committee system put into effect by Clarence Cook Little in 1926. Miss Lloyd, who is at present one of the three Advisers to Women, will take office as Dean on July 1, 1930.

The women of the University will have for Dean someone who has lived in Ann Arbor for the greater part of her life, who has herself been on the campus, both as an undergraduate and a graduate student, and who knows Michigan and the particular problems which confront Michigan women as no outsider could possibly know them.

Miss Lloyd was born in Ann Arbor, the eldest daughter of the late Alfred H. Lloyd, former Dean of the Graduate School, and Margaret Crocker Lloyd. She received her early education in the Ann Arbor public schools, and after two years at the high school continued her education at Milton Academy, Milton, Massachusetts, for some time. She returned to Ann Arbor in 1912 and entered the University of Michigan, from which institution she graduated in 1916. She remained in Ann Arbor after receiving her degree and conducted a little school here. She then removed to New York City, where she enrolled in the Nurses Training Section of St. Luke’s Hospital. She is a registered nurse in New York State. From 1922 until 1924 Miss Lloyd served in the Wayne County probation officer’s juvenile court, and from February 1926, until June 1926, was a probation officer in the neglect department.

In 1926, with the resignation of Miss Jean Hamilton, then Dean of Women, Dr. Little reorganized the office of the Dean of Women and created a committee of three, composed of Miss Lloyd, Miss Grace Richards, and Miss Beatrice Johnson, who took over the duties which were formerly in the hands of a single individual. Miss Lloyd was chairman of the Advisory Committee during the first year of its existence.

The committee appointed by Dr. Little continued to function after his resignation, the only changes being the absence of Miss Johnson who was on leave during the year 1929-1930, and whose resignation occurred a few weeks ago, the addition of Mrs. Beryl Fox Bacher, formerly Dean of Women of the School of Music, and the temporary appointment of Dean Emeritus Myra B. Jordan to the Board.

The office of adviser to women, prior to its reorganization by Dr. Little in 1926, had always been occupied by a single head. Dr. Eliza Mosher, 75m, the first Dean of Women, held that position from 1896 until 1903. Then Mrs. Myra B. Jordan served in a similar capacity for nearly twenty years. Following her retirement in 1922 Miss Jean Hamilton succeeded to the position, brought to the University by Dr. Marion L. Burton.

In the fall of 1929, the Regents passed a resolution that Dean Emeritus Myra B. Jordan is asked: “to take such part in the directing of the affairs of the Office of Advisers to Women for one year as her time and strength will permit.” At the time of her appointment, Mrs. Jordan stated that the advisory committee had the confidence of the women on the campus, and had handled many delicate situations with great wisdom and understanding, but that nevertheless, unavoidable difficulties were bound to arise when a headless committee was called upon to make decisions; and that in a number of cases the duties of the three members of the advisory board overlap, and time and energy were lost. Mrs. Jordan felt keenly the need for a single Dean of Women, a feeling, which was shared by others in authority.

In speaking of her promotion to the position of Dean of Women, Miss Lloyd declined to make any statement about her future plans for the reorganization of the office until after she had discussed them with President Ruthven. According to the Regents’ resolution, the details of this reorganization will be worked out by the Regents and a committee composed of Miss Lloyd, Regent Esther Cram, ’98, and President Ruthven.

The system of the advisory committee has worked so satisfactorily on the campus, and the majority of undergraduate women have been so well pleased with the type of supervision they have received, that some apprehensions were voiced when the rumor spread that President Ruthven and the Regents were considering returning to the former system of a single head. Miss Lloyd is particularly anxious for the women of the University of Michigan to understand that the change will in no way affect their dealings with the office, that it will, in fact, affect only the internal workings of the office itself. The girls on the campus will be allowed the same freedom and the same self-government which they have enjoyed under the present system of administration.