Scurlock Studios Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Dean Lucy Diggs Slowe's tenure as Dean of Women marked an era of expansion for the women on campus. She frequently hosted the women at the home she purchased with Mary P. Burrill in 1919. Their residence at 1256 Kearny St., NE became an often visited refuge for female students as well as prominent visitors to the campus, such as Mary McLeod Bethune. Through her efforts, Slowe created safe spaces for women to enjoy each other's company and to live, learn, and grow together. In a February 1937 response to her former student, Letitia Brown, the dean says, "I have tried to set up for them and maintain for them what I believe to be the proper ideals, but how well I have succeeded I do not know."