Horner, Matina

Variant names

Hide Profile

Educator. A.B. Bryn Mawr College 1961; M.S. University of Michigan 1963, Ph.D. 1968; LL.D. Dickinson College 1973. Assistant professor of psychology and social relations at Harvard University, 1969-72, president of Radcliffe College, 1972-1989. Author of various articles and member of national commissions and committees.

From the guide to the Records of the President of Radcliffe College, 1968-1984, (Radcliffe College Archives, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)

Matina Souretis Horner, psychologist and president of Radcliffe College (1972-1989), was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, to Greek parents. She attended Bryn Mawr College where she began her studies in experimental psychology, graduating in 1961. It was at Bryn Mawr that she met and married Joseph L. Horner, a future research physicist, in 1961. They both attended the University of Michigan for graduate studies and Matina Horner earned her Ph.D. degree in 1968.

Horner's research concentrated on intelligence, motivation, and achievement. She hypothesized that high anxiety levels found in women she tested were caused not by fear of failure, but by the possibility of success. Horner's "fear of success" theory became a potent tool in the women's movement. In 1969 Horner joined the faculty of Harvard University as a lecturer in the Department of Social Relations. The following year she was named assistant professor in the Department of Psychology.

In 1972 Horner was named the sixth (and youngest) president of Radcliffe. She inherited a complex relationship with Harvard. Under her predecessor, Mary Bunting, this relationship had evolved into what was known as the "non-merger merger." Responsibility for students had largely been transferred to Harvard, though women students were still admitted to Radcliffe by a separate Admissions and Financial Aid Office. Radcliffe had delegated some business operations (payroll, accounting, dining halls, library, and buildings and grounds) to Harvard, but had retained control of and administered its own educational, research and alumnae programs. In 1977 Horner negotiated a new agreement with Harvard that reestablished Radcliffe's financial independence, with its own administration, governing board, research programs, and redefined an oversight role and special programs for undergraduate women.

In her inaugural address, Horner spoke of a broad mission for Radcliffe: "to do the right thing for its undergraduates, its alumnae, and for women generally" and she succeeded in bringing a new focus at the college to the concerns of women and women's rights. The Radcliffe Institute, renamed the Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute in 1978, sponsored research by women and offered fellowships to women that created a pipeline and enabled them to flourish in the creative arts and at academic institutions. The Schlesinger Library's resources on women's history grew and the library was renovated and expanded (1989). The Radcliffe Research and Data Center (renamed the Murray Research Center after Henry A. Murray in 1980) was established in 1976 to collect social and behavioral data on the study of lives over time and of issues of concern to American women.

Horner served on the boards of Time Inc., the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and the Liberty Mutual Insurance Co,. and on the boards of foundations and educational organizations including the American Council on Education, New England Board of Higher Education, National Institute of Higher Education, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and the United Nations Association advisory panel on U.S.- China Relations. President Jimmy Carter in 1979 appointed Horner to the President's Commission for the National Agenda for the 1980s and the following year asked her to serve as chairperson of the Task Force on the Quality of American Life.

Despite her many administrative duties at Radcliffe, Horner maintained direct contact with students by holding weekly conferences and teaching several classes. As a scholar, administrator, and mother of three children, Matina Horner was a role model for young women who wished to combine traditional roles with a professional life. She received the Catalyst award (1979), awards from the American Civil Liberties Union, National Conference of Christians and Jews (1981), and numerous honorary degrees.

From the description of Records of the President of Radcliffe College: Series 5, 1972-1989 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 416099221

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Records of the Office of Development, 1968-2001 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Radcliffe Conferences (1988-1989 : Cambridge, Mass.). Records, 1988-1989 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn Records of the Bunting Institute, 1960-2000 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Dean, 1955-1978 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Comstock, Ada Louise. Papers, 1818-1982 (inclusive), 1887-1982 (bulk). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Bunting, Mary Ingraham, 1910-. Records of the President of Radcliffe College, 1960-1972 (inclusive). Radcliffe College, Archives
creatorOf Records of the President of Radcliffe College, 1968-1984 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Horner, Matina. Records of the President of Radcliffe College: Series 5, 1972-1989 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Radcliffe College Archives Motion Picture and Videotape Collection, (inclusive), 1929-1985 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Records of the President of Radcliffe College, 1973-1999 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Dean, 1967-1989 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Radcliffe College Short Courses and Institutes Records: Series 4, 1944-1988 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith American Council on Education. corporateBody
associatedWith Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America. corporateBody
associatedWith Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts. corporateBody
associatedWith Barbara N. Kravitz person
associatedWith Bok, Derek Curtis. person
associatedWith Bovet, Philippa. person
associatedWith Bunting, Mary Ingraham, 1910- person
associatedWith Bunting-Smith, Mary Ingraham, 1910-1998. person
associatedWith Comstock, Ada Louise. person
associatedWith Constable, Giles person
associatedWith Dunlop, John Thomas, 1914- person
associatedWith Graham, Patricia Albjerg. person
associatedWith Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. corporateBody
associatedWith Harvard University. corporateBody
associatedWith Hilles, Susan Morse, 1905- person
associatedWith Jane S. Knowles person
associatedWith King, Patricia Miller. person
associatedWith Linda S. Wilson person
associatedWith Lyman, Susan Storey. person
associatedWith Mayman, Myra. person
associatedWith New England Board of Higher Education. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe Choral Society. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Admissions Office. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Alumnae Association. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Henry A. Murray Research Center. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Office of Development corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Office of the Dean corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Office of the President. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Radcliffe Career Services. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe College. Radcliffe Publishing Course. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe Conferences (1988-1989 : Cambridge, Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe Seminars. corporateBody
associatedWith Radcliffe Union of Students. corporateBody
associatedWith Rosovsky, Henry person
associatedWith Rosovsky, Henry. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
Massachusetts--Cambridge
Subject
Affirmative action programs
College presidents
Universities and colleges
Universities and colleges
Universities and colleges
Universities and colleges
Universities and colleges
College students
Psychologists
Psychologists
Psychology
Sexual harassment of women
Women
Women
Women college students
Women in science
Women psychologists
Women's colleges
Occupation
Educators
Psychologists
Activity

Person

Birth 1939-07-28

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jh8cz3

Ark ID: w6jh8cz3

SNAC ID: 67902866