The Harvard Yard Fence (c) Harvard University

At Saturday's dedication, Professor Vendler noted that although Harvard has been educating women for many years, women were not full citizens until the 1970s, when Harvard opened its figurative gates.
'The delectable view of a New England autumn in the Yard has now been native to women for a quarter-century, and thousands of Harvard women have gone on to play significant roles in America's intellectual, artistic, economic, and political life," Vendler said. "The future promises thousands more. And though the first extraordinary Anne Bradstreet could not be educated at Harvard, the next Anne Bradstreet will, we hope, be one of us.'