AN HONORARY DEGREE FROM YALE

Wharton received an honorary degree from Yale in 1923. She was the first woman to become an Honorary Doctor of Letters at the university. Previously, the honorary degree of Master of Arts was awarded to women, including painter Cecilia Beaux in 1912.

Wharton receiving her Yale honorary degree in 1923

While at Yale for commencement, Wharton sat on the stage in Woolsey Hall and marched across what is now Hewitt Quadrangle, often referred to as Beinecke Plaza.

Seating chart on the Woolsey Hall stage during the 1923 commencement ceremony

The awarding of degrees to Wharton and to Mary Emma Woolley was emphasized in news reports and Yale publications. Woolley, an activist, scholar, and president of Mount Holyoke College, was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree.

Excerpt from the July 6, 1923 issue of The Yale Alumni Weekly

June 20, 1923 article in The New York Evening Post

Owing to the connections to Yale that Wharton formed during the awarding of her honorary degree, her papers—which constitute the majority of this exhibit—were given to the Yale University Library shortly after her death in 1937.