Madeline Wallin was one of the first female graduate students at the University of Chicago. A student of political science, she received her Ph.M. degree in 1893, two years after completing her undergraduate work at Smith College and the University of Minnesota.
An alert and active member of the fledgling academic community, Miss Wallin took part in many of the educational and social events of the University. She was a member of the Club of History and Political Science, and one of the prime organizers of The Women's University Settlement League, a student group which devoted time and skills to the nearby Chicago settlement houses.
After completion of her graduate degree in 1893, Madeline Wallin became an instructor of history at Smith College. In 1897, she married George C. Sikes, an editor of the Chicago Record and a former classmate. Although her marriage and the birth of her two children, Alfred and Eleanor (later Mrs. Peters), curtailed her teaching career, Madeline Wallin remained a popular speaker on settlements and education reform until her death in 1955.
From the guide to the Wallin, Madeline. Papers, 1887-1955, (Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)
