The first woman to hold an administrative faculty position was Margaret Kenwell, who served as Lady Principal from 1894 to 1896. The first woman named as a dean was M. Estella Sprague, who headed what was then the Division of Home Economics. Sprague served as dean from 1920 to 1926. She had been a professor of home economics at Connecticut Agricultural College since 1917. During World War I, Sprague, who had been the first woman extension worker at Connecticut, was the state director of home economics for the Federal Food Administration.  Sprague Hall in the East Campus Residence Hall complex was named for her in 1942, two years after her death.

-Mark J. Roy, University Communications (retired)

M. Estella Sprague, Dean of Home Economics, 1920