Addams and Woolley shared a strong belief in women's colleges as aides to transformation. Addams was, like Woolley, a member of the first generation of women to attend college. She founded what became the world's most famous settlement house, Hull House. This community-based center offered social and educational opportunities to the working poor. Settlements could be found across the country, and Mount Holyoke sent a few graduates each year on fellowships to live and volunteer at women's settlements such as Hull House. Addams also worked for Chicago municipal suffrage and served as vice-president of the National American Women Suffrage Association from 1911 to 1914.

At President Woolley's invitation Jane Addams was Mt. Holyoke's commencement speaker in 1907 and then returned in 1908 to give a lecture entitled “Suffrage for Working Women”. Addams was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.