Emma Magazine - CASE

25“She was tall, had good lookinglegs, and carried a reticule,” remembersBill. “And wore a veil and agray hat,” adds Linda.The poet proceeded to tell theassembly, in a thick German accent,that she was disappointed thatthey didn’t offer German classesor speak German.“The students were not amused,”laughs Bill. “Who is this womanputting our school down?”She began to read someGoethe and the students, boredand eager to get back to theirstudies, began squirming andwhispering. At which point thepoet railed at the students.“It’s extraordinary that youyoung ladies could be so badlybehaved!” she exclaimed. “It’senough to make me tear outmy hair!”So she did just that. Toreoff her hair—a wig, and beneaththat wig, was Bill Dietel. Pandemoniumensued. “It causedalmost complete bedlam amongthe students,” remembers KimiOkada ’69. “It was so funny,”says Linda, who was up in thebalcony laughing out loud.While the Dietel years at Emma werebuilding years—new structures,new programs, new teachers andadministrators—Bill and Lindarealized, by the end of their tenure,that all-girls’ schools were losingground. As many boys’ secondaryschools began going coed, the poolof Emma applicants was reducedand the future of all-girls education,at the secondary and collegiate level,began to look imperiled.In the years that followed, schoolschanged and evolved to meet thedemands and expectations of thechanging times. Some all-girls’schools became coed, some folded.But Emma Willard remained trueto its mission.“This school says,let’s go for it.”Then came the study by Harvardpsychologist Carol Gilligan thatEmma underwrote. “That was animportant mind-changer about allgirls’ schools and women’s education,”Linda says.Gilligan asserted that developmentaldifferences between malesand females worked against youngwomen in educational settings,where they learned during pubertyto suppress their “authenticvoices” and true ideals in maledominatedsociety.“That put us back on thenational education scene,” Billsays. “That gave Emma a shot inthe arm. It’s part of the businessof being pioneering and takingchances. This school says, let’s gofor it. Finds a new way to be creative,to rethink women’s education.Emma Willard has historicallyconsistently played over its headand that explains the loyalty ofthe alumnae, the dedication of thefaculty, and the commitment ofthe board.”No one has been more loyal,dedicated, committed—or pioneering—thanthe Dietels.In 1969, Bill exited from hisrole as Emma’s principal with thesame drama and flair as when heentered it. “I will never forget thatday,” remembers Ann Evans ’72.“A helicopter began to circle overthe Triangle. Once it became clearthat the helicopter was going to landon the campus everyone gatheredto watch. My memory is that whenBill Dietel stepped out his armswere filled with daffodils and heannounced “Headmaster’s Holiday!”Approaching each and every studentand handing her a flower was hisway of saying farewell. He’ll neversay goodbye.Summer 2012