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Mary Bidwell Breed (September 15, 1870 – September 15, 1949) was an American chemist known for serving as Dean of Women at Indiana University (1901-1906) and also her chemistry work with aromatic acids.

Education and Career

Mary Bidwell Breed earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College in 1901. She wrote The Polybasic Acids of Mesitylene, published in 1901, which discussed her chemistry work with aromatic acids, mainly derivatives of benzene. Breed served as Dean of Women at Indiana University for five years (1901-1906). There she aided women students through their academic path. Typically women were hired into this role to bridge the gap of women and men in education. Breed was hire to interact with and aid women students with various issues regarding their education, while male students' issues were heard by another faculty committee. Breed was also a member of the teaching faculty of Indiana University. Beginning in 1911, shortly after Breed's term at Indiana University, the status of the position of Dean of Women began to decline. Many universities and colleges across the country reported that the women in these positions were not as accepted among the mostly male dominated faculty.