Minna Weinstein, retired educator

Minna Weinstein, 74, of Haverford, a retired executive of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and a former La Salle College history professor, died of pneumonia April 11 at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

In 1967, La Salle, then an all-men's school, hired Dr. Weinstein and another professor as the first full-time women faculty members. Dr. Weinstein later wrote about the experience. Signing the contract was easy, she recalled, but telling her father that she would be teaching at a Catholic school - she was Jewish - was hard. "Wouldn't I be troubled by all the crucifixes?" she wrote.

In 1970, La Salle became coed, and Dr. Weinstein was a "dynamic force" in the transition, said Barbara Millard, a retired La Salle dean. She was instrumental in establishing a women's center on campus and initiated a course on women in history, Millard said.

"She was an exciting teacher. Her classes were always full," Millard said.

In 1981, Dr. Weinstein left La Salle to join the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The organization, in Philadelphia, accredits degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States region, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and several international locations. She retired as senior executive associate director in 2000.

A native of Baltimore, Dr. Weinstein earned a bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate in history from the University of Maryland. Her area of expertise was the Renaissance. Before joining the La Salle faculty, she taught at Temple University for six years.

In 1986, a former La Salle student who had become a lawyer told her that he was assisting a young African American woman searching for someone to adopt her newborn. Dr. Weinstein, then 53, decided to adopt the 3-month-old girl.

"I was not surprised," said Eileen Cohen, a longtime friend. "Minna was always generous and idealistic."

Dr. Weinstein enjoyed reading, going to the theater, and watching movies, and she traveled to Alaska and Africa with her daughter, Althea.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by two nieces.

A graveside service was held April 14 at Haym Salomon Memorial Park in Frazer.