 By 1888 she was Mathematics Department Chair, and that year she was given permission to plan and equip the first observatory in Swarthmore, which housed the astronomy department, and in which she lived in until her retirement; it was known as Cunningham Observatory.The building still exists on the campus although it is no longer used as an observatory, and is now simply known as the Cunningham Building.In 1888 Cunningham was given the first honorary doctorate of science ever given by Swarthmore.