5O Years of Ada Comstock Scholars Doing It Their Way

Former New Jersey state senator Anne Clark Martindell AC ’02 was not allowed to return to Smith for her sophomore year in 1933, when her father found out she wanted to major in government and not one of the more “ladylike” pursuits of art or English. But in 2000, Martindell came back to campus as an Ada Comstock Scholar and graduated in 2002 at age 87—Smith’s oldest graduate so far.

During the first half of the 20th century, many women either left college early or did not attend at all. But by the 1960s, women of all ages were seeking opportunities to earn college degrees. In 1968, the Mature Women’s Program was implemented at Smith and graduated 23 nontraditional-age students. With this momentum and a growing demand, it was refined and rechristened the Ada Comstock Scholars Program in 1974. It was named for Ada Comstock 1897, who served as dean of Smith from 1912 to 1923 and president of Radcliffe College from 1923 to 1943.

The first class of Adas came to campus in 1975 under incoming President Jill Ker Conway. (Adas transfer to Smith after up to two years at another institution.) Since then, 2,482 women ranging in age from their mid-20s to their late 80s have graduated as Ada Comstock Scholars. From Lella Gandini AC ’78, a 2008 Smith medalist and international authority on the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, to Tanya Pearson AC ’16, founder of the Women of Rock Oral History Project and author of the recently published Pretend We’re Dead: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Women in Rock in the ’90s, Adas reflect even more variation in interests, backgrounds, and accomplishments than their traditional-age classmates.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program in 2025, current and former heads of the program got together to discuss its evolution and what lies ahead.

Andrea Rossi-Reder, current dean of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program: A lot of the women who enter the program have had life intervene in various sorts of ways. Some of them didn’t do well in high school; some experienced tragedy or trauma—something happened in their lives that forced them to drop out of college or not continue after high school.

Eleanor (Ellie) Rothman, founding director of the program and former director of Ada Comstock Initiatives for the Future: At the beginning, we knew the program had to be flexible, and Smith not having a core curriculum made a huge difference.

Sidonia (Sid) Dalby, former associate director of admission and Ada adviser: When I came to Smith in 1981, the fact that there was housing for Adas was a real selling point. We were lucky that we could recruit Adas from all over because they’d have a place to live even before Conway House opened in 2006. [Conway House is an apartment residence for Ada Comstock Scholars with families.]

Erika Laquer, former dean of the program: Before Conway House, there were the apartments on Bedford Terrace, which were available for a limited number of individuals who came with families.

ARR: Rental prices are exorbitant now in and around Northampton, so having housing has been very important. We have several single mothers with children on campus. And Adas have gotten younger.

ER: When the program first started, we had women in their 60s, 70s, and 80s.

SD: We had a 77-year-old and an 85-year-old.

ARR: When I first started here, I don’t think we had anybody under the age of 41. Now, the majority of Adas are in their late 20s and early 30s and coming right out of community college. Most of them are coming from Holyoke Community College and Greenfield Community College, but many of those students are international and have settled in Massachusetts already. They are originally from Afghanistan, Brazil, Mexico, and African countries.

ER: In my experience, most faculty were very happy to have Adas in class because they tended to be more serious students and participated; they stimulated the conversation among all students. Some traditional-age students are delighted to have the opportunity to have a fellow student relationship with a more mature person, but it depends on the student.

EL: One year, the summer reading book was Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. A lot of Adas had been waitresses, hotel housekeepers, and held other low-wage jobs. The Adas were able to give the traditional students a firsthand perspective on the issues in the book.

ARR: The professors also appreciate the fact that Adas bring different perspectives and different experiences.

EL: Honestly, sometimes traditional students thought Adas were a little overeager in some classes. They had so much to say. I used to call it a fire in their belly. They could talk for hours in the classroom. That hunger in Adas is what really makes them interesting students for the faculty.

ARR: I have been here for nine years, and another change I’ve seen is what Adas choose for majors. When I first started, it was mostly sociology, psychology, and English. Now, it’s STEM. Psychology is still up there, but we’re seeing more Adas interested in biology, chemistry, premed, computer science, and data science. We even have a couple of Adas doing engineering despite the fact that there are so many course requirements.

SD: Community colleges were great places to recruit potential Adas. We relied on counselors and honors program directors to help us pick the best students. Those relationships need to continue to be fostered.

ARR: Yes, recruitment is one of our big challenges right now, mainly because community college enrollments went down during the pandemic. They are just now starting to bounce back. The pool of students has become smaller, and people are starting to question the value of higher education. Plus, there are more schools offering part-time schooling for nontraditional students, and there are some who question the value of a liberal arts education—even with Smith’s no-loans policy. And some Adas come to Smith worried they aren’t going to do well because they’re not prepared; they feel they don’t know how to write or to do math.

ER: It’s often true, but they learn.

ARR: They learn, and they can do it. I think it’s tough at the beginning. They have some transition issues, as all students do when they enter college. But we find that by the time they get to their second semester, they are humming along for the most part.

EL: Sometimes some people think that because it’s a small program, Adas get in easily and may not be up to Smith standards. But over time, that’s obviously been shown to be false.

SD: They are ready for the challenge. Support is very important, though. When there’s a little bit of a crisis, they need to have somebody to go to. That’s what Ellie and I did, and that’s what Andrea does. It’s good to know that somebody believes in you. Sometimes when someone came in with a problem and couldn’t figure out how to solve it, we could make a phone call and help them find the right person in the right office and clear things up. A lot of Adas are here for only two years. They have to hit the ground running.

ARR: I think being an older student is a good thing. I wish I had gone to school as a nontraditional student because I would’ve appreciated my education and taken it more seriously.

ER: I am proud of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program. I worked hard—usually 50 to 60 hours a week, week in and week out—but it was worth every minute.

SD: I always thought creating the program was one of the best things Smith ever did. Representing the college out in the field, you see the respect that Smith garners. It was an honor for me to work for the program. I love the students. Some of them still stay in touch with me. It was a blessing.

ER: As far as I was concerned, I had the best job in the world. I am proud of the Ada Comstock program and what it has become. But I would like to see some permanent framework for supporting the program. A new administration can always change things.

SD: I’m glad they are building Kathleen McCartney Hall, which will focus on career development and leadership training. We need to have all students prepared for whatever is next.

ARR: I’d like to see the Ada program continue to grow and to attract excellent students like we now have, and I would love to see Adas continue to go on to graduate programs in a variety of fields and to find employment that fulfills their career goals.

EL: The Ada program has an amazing reputation. It has been called one of the jewels in the Smith crown, and I would like to see it shine.