This collection contains the papers of two beloved Mills College professors, married couple Ethel Sabin Smith, and Willard Smith, who taught at the college for over 30 years. It includes their Correspondence, Personal Papers (including travel journals), and Writings (related to their publications and lectures).

Dr. Ethel Sabin Smith was born in 1887 and grew up on a farm in Wisconsin (see her autobiographical A Furrow Deep and True). She attended the Milwaukee-Downer Seminary, the University of Wisconsin for a B.A. in Latin, and her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois in Philosophy. She taught at Bryn Mawr College from 1917-1922. Dr. Willard Smith was born in Glidden, Iowa in 1889 and earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University. The couple came to teach at Mills College in 1922 at the request of President Aurelia Henry Reinhardt. At the time they had been married for only 26 days! During their time at Mills, Dr. Ethel Sabin Smith was known as an inspiration and a “gracious hostess,” often entertaining students in their home. It was said that Willard Smith brought literature to life in his English classes and that he was a “great teacher.” The Smiths retired in 1953. In her retirement, Ethel wrote The Dynamics of Aging (1956), Passports at Seventy (1961), A Furrow Deep and True (1964), and God and other Gods (1973). References Ethel Sabin Smith – obituary. (1981 May). Mills Quarterly, 62, pp. 31-32. DuMont, V. P. (1959 February). In memoriam: Willard Smith. Mills Quarterly, 41, p. 110. DuMont, V. P. (1980 November). Introduction. In E. S. Smith, The Enigma of Time. Mills Quarterly, 63, p. 20. Smith, Willard. Mills College Collection. Biography Files. Special Collections, F. W. Olin Library, Mills College.

3.5 linear feet

Though this collection is the physical property of Mills College Special Collections, copyright belongs to the authors or creators of the works or their legal representatives. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested in writing from the Special Collections Curator.

Collection is open for research.