Mary Adams (educator)

In 1854, she moved to Sackville, New Brunswick to take up the position of chief preceptress, the highest administrative role available to a woman in her school.

Adams believed that women needed and deserved a rigorous academic program, and at the Mount Allison Wesleyan Academy she put these principles into practice.

[2] When Adams's father died in May 1856, she considered resigning as chief preceptress, but her belief in "the cause of female education" kept her there until 1857, when she returned home.

In 1861, Adams returned to school administration, becoming the founding principal of the Wesleyan Female College in Hamilton, Ontario.

The school faced financial problems in its early years, and she was forced to teach in a poorly-converted hotel building—but Adams successfully transformed the college into a well-regarded academic institution.

[2] In 1868, Adams's mother died, and she left the Wesleyan Female College to travel in Italy with her sister and coworker, Augusta.