Sweet Briar College
Sweet Briar
VirginiaPresident's Office
June 30, 1909.
Dr. C. M. Clapp,
Mt. Holyoke College,
South Hadley, Massachusetts.My dear Dr. Clapp,
Miss Ruby Sanborn has applied for a position to teach biology in this college. I should like to know your judgement as to her scholarship and personality. Has she sufficient initiative and executive ability to manage the work of a growing department? The matter of personality is very important to us. Thanking you for this information, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Mary K. Benedict
President.(Dictated)
[Cornelia wrote some notes on the letter, addressed to someone else. It was probably Florence Purington, who wrote this reply a few days later, and likely returned Cornelia's letter to her at the same time. [Unfortunately, the envelope did not survive, so Florence's reply was separated from the Benedict letter.] Florence used some wording in her reply to Cornelia that Cornelia used in her draft reply to Mary Benedict.]
Please tell me about this Sweet Briar place? I think Ruby might do - and I dont [sic] know this kind of place.
You know about Ruby & if you know of this place please let me know the benefit of your knowledge
[On the reverse side of the page, Cornelia worked on a draft reply to Mary Benedict]
Miss Mary K. Benedict
President of Sweet Briar College,Dear Miss Benedict,
Miss Ruby Sanborn was my assistant in the Zoological Laboratory for some time after her graduation from Mt. Holyoke in 1903. She is enthusiastic in her work and was very efficient as a laboratory assistant. I do not know particularly about her success in teaching at Washington Seminary, but
one of theI have receivedmythe impression that she has succeeded well.As I do not know what your requirements are outside the class room,
I cannot tell whether she would come up to your expectations in the social lineyou ask as to her "scholarship & personality" &askif she has sufficient "initiation & execution ability -"The matter of personality, being most important, as I can well understand, I would say that while I think Miss Sanborn has probably improved much in the four or five years since she was with me, still, I could not say that she would be a social star.
Perhaps more would be required in the social line than she is capable of.She would teach well, I am sure, and probably would understand
the requirementhow to conduct the affair of a growing department[.] Miss Sanborn is a young woman of strong religious character, a good student,rather attractive fond ofof average ability.