More Than A Handsome Box

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Emil Lorch, far left, with architecture students in their cramped quarters in the Engineering Building 2 5

candidate could earn a Bachelor of Science in Design. Lorch was pleased that such an education could apply equally at home as in business. '5 6 It filled a need, he felt, since it opened a career path for "men and women of artistic ability, who lack the constructive sense required of the architect, but have the ability and good taste to make our homes and public meeting places more attractive."'57 The design program drew impressively upon the talents of regional artisans including Mary Chase Stratton of Pewabic Pottery. The establishment in the 1920s of the University of Michigan's new academic programs in design, social work, library science, and nursing; the decision to build even more women's dormitories; and the discussion of a women's side of campus, with gymnasium, league, and homes planned and built to the east or north of campus, occurred in an era when female students constituted a significant campus population. What might later be interpreted as marginalization was then praised by both men and women as a recognition of women's distinctive place in academia. This differentiation continued beyond graduation. Three Michigan women who majored in architecture in the 1920s maintained their support of one another by establishing the Women's Architectural Club, Chicago Chapter. They were Juliet Peddle, Bertha Yerex Whitman, and Ruth H. Perkins. '58 And at least a couple of their contemporaries who did not major in design or architecture went on to significant careers documenting the

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