Virginia C. Gildersleeve was the most influential dean of Barnard College, which she led from 1911 to 1947. In this biography, historian Nancy Woloch explores Gildersleeve's complicated career in academia and public life. In this judicious biography, Gildersleeve emerges as a complicated figure. A resilient administrator, internationalist, and promoter of women's higher education, she also restricted Barnard's admission of Jews and Blacks and was briefly pro-Nazi. By deftly treating her subject's intimate relationships with two women, Woloch brings Gildersleeve's private life into focus.