Women's colleges in the United States

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Women's colleges in the United States are institutions of higher education in the United States whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. They are often liberal arts colleges. There are approximately sixty active women's colleges in the U.S.

Hollins University

[edit] List and timeline of women's colleges

Main article: List of current and historical women's universities and colleges in the United States

Main article: Timeline of women's colleges in the United States

[edit] 19th century history

Mount Holyoke College (Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) in 1837

Education for girls and women was initially provided for in the 18th Century by Moravian settlements in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Moravian College, founded in 1742 in Germantown and later moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was originally called the Bethlehem Female Seminary. It began to grant undergraduate degrees in 1863 and became the Moravian Seminary and College for Women in 1913. In 1954, it combined with the boys school, Moravian College and Theological Seminary and became coeducational.[1] The Moravians of Salem, North Carolina began what is now Salem College in 1772 in Winston-Salem.

Institutions of higher education for women, however, were primarily founded during the early 19th century, many as teaching seminaries. As noted by the Women's College Coalition:

The formal education of girls and women began in the middle of the nineteenth century and was intimately tied to the conception that society had of the appropriate role for women to assume in life. Republican education prepared girls for their future role as wives and mothers and taught religion, singing, dancing and literature. Academic education prepared girls for their role as community leaders and social benefactors and had some elements of the education offered boys. Seminaries educated women for the only socially acceptable occupation: teaching. Only unmarried women could be teachers. Many early women's colleges began as female seminaries and were responsible for producing an important corps of educators. ^[1]

Irene Harwarth, Mindi Maline, and Elizabeth DeBra further note that, "women's colleges were founded during the mid- and late-19th century in response to a need for advanced education for women at a time when they were not admitted to most institutions of higher education."^[2] Early proponents of education for women were Sarah Pierce (Litchfield Female Academy, 1792); Catharine Beecher (Hartford Female Seminary, 1823); Zilpah P. Grant Banister (Ipswich Female Seminary, 1828); and Mary Lyon. Lyon was involved in the development of both Hartford Female Seminary and Ipswich Female Seminary. She was also involved in the creation of Wheaton Female Seminary (now Wheaton College, Massachusetts) in 1834. In 1837, Lyon founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (Mount Holyoke College), the "first of the Seven Sisters."^[3] Harwarth, Maline, and DeBra note that, "Mount Holyoke’s significance is that it became a model for a multitude of other women’s colleges throughout the country."^[4]. Both Vassar College and Wellesley College were patterned after Mount Holyoke. ^[5] Wesleyan College was the first college chartered for women, receiving its charter in 1836. Vassar was the first of the Seven Sisters to be chartered as a college in 1861.

Vassar College in 1862.

While there were a few coeducational colleges (such as Oberlin College founded in 1833, Antioch College in 1853, and Bates College in 1855), most colleges and universities of high standing at that time were exclusively for men. The first generally-accepted coordinate college, H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, (with Tulane University), was founded in 1886, and followed a year later by Evelyn College for Women, the coordinate college for Princeton University. The model was quickly duplicated at other prestigious universities. Notable nineteenth century coordinate colleges included Barnard (with Columbia University), Pembroke (with Brown University), and Radcliffe College (with Harvard University).

[edit] Historically black colleges

Main article: Historically black colleges and universities

Bennett College and Spelman College are historically black women's colleges which were both developed during the later half of the 19th century (although Bennett did not become a women's college until 1926). Bennett has been described as the Vassar of the South and Spelman as the Radcliffe College of historically black colleges. Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou have recently offered public support to Bennett College.^[6] In addition, Mount Hermon Female Seminary was founded in 1875 and closed in 1924.

[edit] Public colleges

Main article: Public university

In 1884 the legislature of the state of Mississippi established Industrial Institute & College, the first public college for women in the United States. Other states soon followed: Georgia created Georgia State College for Women in 1889, and North Carolina created North Carolina Women's College in 1893. This is similar to the establishment of Douglass Residential College (Rutgers University) which was founded as the New Jersey College for Women in 1918 by Mabel Smith Douglass.^[7]

Agnes Scott College

[edit] Seven Sister colleges

Main article: Seven Sisters (colleges)

Colleges for women were founded in the Northern United States during the early and mid 19th century. Seven of them (Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Vassar College, Wellesley College, Radcliffe College, Bryn Mawr College and Barnard College) were grouped under the title of The Seven Sisters in 1927.

[edit] Women's Colleges in the Southern United States

Main article: Women's Colleges in the Southern United States

Women's Colleges in the Southern United States refers to American women's colleges in the Southern United States.

[edit] 20th century history

[edit] Women's College Coalition

The Women's College Coalition (WCC) was founded in 1972 and describes itself as an "association of women's colleges and universities – public and private, independent and church-related, two- and four-year – in the United States and Canada whose primary mission is the education and advancement of women."^[8]

[edit] Seven Sisters Colleges

Smith College

Two of the Seven Sister colleges made transitions during and after the 1960s. The first, Radcliffe College, merged with Harvard University. Beginning in 1963, students at Radcliffe received Harvard diplomas signed by the presidents of Radcliffe and Harvard and joint commencement exercises began in 1970. The same year, several Harvard and Radcliffe dormitories began swapping students experimentally and in 1972 full co-residence was instituted. The departments of athletics of both schools merged shortly thereafter. In 1977, Harvard and Radcliffe signed an agreement which put undergraduate women entirely in Harvard College. In 1999 Radcliffe College was dissolved and Harvard University assumed full responsibility over the affairs of female undergraduates. Radcliffe is now the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Women's Studies at Harvard University. The second, Vassar College, declined an offer to merge with Yale University and instead became coeducational in 1969.

The remaining Seven Sisters decided against coeducation. Mount Holyoke College engaged in a lengthy debate under the presidency of David Truman over the issue of coeducation. On 06 November 1971, "after reviewing an exhaustive study on coeducation, the board of trustees decided unanimously that Mount Holyoke should remain a women's college, and a group of faculty was charged with recommending curricular changes that would support the decision." ^[9] Smith College also made a similar decision in 1971.^[10] In 1969, Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College (then all-male) developed a system of sharing residential colleges. When Haverford became coeducational in 1980, Bryn Mawr discussed the possibly of coeducation as well, but decided against it. ^[11] In 1983, Columbia University began admitting women after a decade of failed negotiations with Barnard College for a merger along the lines of Harvard and Radcliffe (Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia since 1900, but it continues to be independently governed). Wellesley College also decided against coeducation during this time.

[edit] Mississippi University for Women

Mississippi University for Women changed its single-sex admissions policy to include men in 1982 following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan. The court found that the university would be in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause if it denied admission to its nursing program on the basis of gender^[12].

The 5-4 opinion was written by Justice O'Connor, who stated that "In limited circumstances, a gender-based classification favoring one sex can be justified if it intentionally and directly assists members of the sex that is disproportionately burdened." She went on to point out that there are a disproportionate number of women who are nurses, and that denying admission to men "lends credibility to the old view that women, not men, should become nurses, and makes the assumption that nursing is a field for women a self-fulfilling prophecy." ^[13] In their dissenting opinions, Justices Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., and William H. Rehnquist suggested that the result of this ruling would be the elimination of publicly supported single-sex educational opportunities. This suggestion has proven to be accurate as there are no single-sex public colleges or universities in the United States today.

The ruling did not require the university to change its name to reflect its coeducational status and it continues a tradition of academic and leadership development for women by providing liberal arts and professional education to women and men^[14].

Mills College

[edit] Mills College

On May 3, 1990, the Trustees of Mills College announced that they had voted to admit male students.^[15] This decision led to a two-week student and staff strike, accompanied by numerous displays of non-violent protests by the students.^[16][17] At one point, nearly 300 students blockaded the administrative offices and boycotted classes.^[18] On May 18, the Trustees met again to reconsider the decision,^[19] leading finally to a reversal of the vote.^[20]

[edit] 21st century history

[edit] Wells College

Beginning in late 2004 the debate concerning coeducation resurfaced when, citing decreased enrollment, Wells College, announced that it would adopt coeducation.^[21] In response, there were student protests on campus.^[22][23][24] Parents of students also became involved in the protests.^[25] Some of the students stated that their protests were patterned after those which happened at Mills College in the early 1990s.^[26] A website called Wells for Women was also established.^[27] When the decision to adopt coeducation was approved, students filed a lawsuit which was eventually rejected.^[28] Wells became coeducational in 2005.

[edit] Randolph College

In 2006, Randolph-Macon Woman's College announced that it would adopt coeducation and change its name. Former Interim president Ginger H. Worden argued (in a 17 September 2006 editorial for the Washington Post) that, "today, the college is embarking on a new future, one that will include men. Yet that original mission, that dedication to women's values and education, remains. The fact of the marketplace is that only 3 percent of college-age women say they will consider a women's college. The majority of our own students say they weren't looking for a single-sex college specifically. Most come despite the fact that we are a single-sex college. Our enrollment problems are not going away, and we compete with both coed and single-sex schools. Of the top 10 colleges to which our applicants also apply, seven are coed. Virtually all who transfer from R-MWC do so to a coed school. These market factors affect our financial realities. " ^[29]

It was re-named Randolph College on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational.

[edit] Response from Randolph College students, parents, faculty, and alumnae

In response to the announcement, there were numerous protests on campus including rallies, blocking administrative offices, mass requests for transfer transcripts, banners all over campus, striking from classes, and participation in quiet protest to highlight lack of student voices in the board of trustee votes.^[30][31]

This led to the formation of a non-profit "Preserve Education Choice" (PEC),^[32] comprised of students, faculty, and alumnae who are trying to reverse the decision. Two lawsuits were filed by Preserve Educational Choice.^[33] On January 23, 2007, both lawsuits were dismissed in Lynchburg Circuit Court.^[34] A 2 July 2007 article announced that PEC raised enough money to appeal both dismissals.^[35] A 09 July 2007 article announced that a group of nine students brought the case to the Virginia Supreme Court where "Richmond lawyer Wyatt B. Durrette Jr. asked the state's high court to grant an appeal of the group's lawsuit, which Lynchburg Circuit Judge Leyburn Mosby Jr. dismissed in January."^[36]

On 30 June 2007, professor emeritus of romance languages, Charlotte Stern, published the 24 page letter, How the Board of Trustees Hijacked R-MWC Right Before Our Eyes: An Open Letter to the R-MWC Community on the website, Preserve Educational Change.^[37] This letter was "endorsed by 19 others, ranging from alumnae, former professors and a former president of Randolph's board of trustees. Dated June 30, the letter was sent to former and current faculty, administration and trustees, and widely circulated among alumnae."^[38] The 21 July 2007 The News & Advance article, She said, she said: The coed debate broken down, summarized a few points of the letter and included responses from Randolph College.^[39] The article also referenced, Ginger Hill Worden, Interim President, responds to What Every Trustee Should Know and 20 Reasons Why You Should Change Your Vote, a response published on the college website, which discussed earlier debates concerning the decision to adopt coeducation.^[40]

The Virginia Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals in both the student contract and charitable trust cases. The appeals are expected to be decided in 2008.^[41]

[edit] Responses from presidents of women's colleges and students

• Agnes Scott College - President Elizabeth Kiss argues in a statement on the college's website, "while we sympathize with the conscientious deliberation and agonizing debate that led the Randolph-Macon Woman's College Trustees to their decision, our vision of the future is very different from theirs [...] research conducted by Hood College in 2002 concluded that three attributes were essential to the success of a women s college: steady enrollment, large endowments and an urban or semi-urban location. Agnes Scott scores high marks in each of these categories: our enrollment has grown by more than 50 percent since 1995; our endowment of approximately $300 million remains one of the largest in the country for a college of our size;our location in the thriving urban area of Decatur and Atlanta is a wonderful asset for our students, " ^[42]

• Columbia College - President Caroline Whitson argues in a 17 October 2006 article that "the role for women’s colleges has been questioned recently after the decisions of the boards of both Randolph Macon Women’s College in Virginia and Regis College in Massachusetts to break with their tradition of women’s education by going coed. This has raised the question of whether the idea of single-gender education is still relevant. The answer lies in whether measurable differences exist in the outcomes for graduates of women’s colleges and in whether the benefits they receive are important for their futures and for society [...] Graduates of women’s colleges [...] are more than twice as likely as their peers who graduated from coed programs to hold traditionally male-dominated positions in technology, medicine and economics. They are also more than twice as likely to complete graduate degrees." ^[43]
• Mills College - President Janet L. Holmgren argues in an 11 October 2006 article that, "last month, the governing boards of Randolph-Macon Women's College (Lynchburg, Va.) and Regis College (Boston) announced their decisions to become coeducational institutions in 2007 [...] representatives from both colleges expressed their hope for achieving enrollment increases and financial stability as a result of going coed, while continuing their commitments to the original mission. In 1990, Mills College came close to walking the same path as these colleges, and reversed the decision to go coed after major protests. Since that time, we have increased enrollment, expanded opportunities for professional graduate education linked to our undergraduate liberal-arts core, broken previous fundraising records, accelerated our academic achievements, and earned national pre-eminence among higher educational institutions nationwide." ^[44]
• Seven Sisters - In the fall of 2006, student representatives of Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley met in Northampton, Massachusetts to discuss the decision of Regis College and Randolph-Macon Woman's College to adopt coeducation. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss, "an obligation to maintain the traditions" of their colleges. The article also noted a correlation between endowment and the decision to move towards coeducation by stating that "although many small women's colleges are suffering financial woes, the schools with larger endowments are seeing more applicants. Mount Holyoke, for example, set an admissions record this year with the most applicants since 2002."^[45]
• Simmons College - President Susan Scrimshaw argues in an 4 October 2006 article that, "two women's colleges, Regis College and Randolph-Macon Woman's College, announced recently they will become co educational. Does this matter? Haven't today's women ``made it"? Are women's colleges still relevant today? Yes, every bit as relevant, and in some cases more so, than they were when I was an undergraduate at Barnard College 40 years ago [...] Simmons enrollment has increased by more than 50 percent in the past five years. Our applicant pool and our first-year class are among the largest in our history. We are not alone. The healthy endowments of such women's colleges as Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Bryn Mawr are examples of success and strength." ^[46]
• Sweet Briar College and Hollins University - President Elisabeth Muhlenfeld and President Nancy Gray wrote in a 14 September 2006 article that "for women, some of the most distinctive and effective choices are the nation's women's colleges. As leaders of two such institutions, Sweet Briar College and Hollins University, we have witnessed firsthand the difference a single-sex atmosphere can make in the personal and intellectual growth of our students. We therefore were saddened when Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg announced Saturday that it would become coeducational. R-MWC has been our friendly rival and distinguished sister institution in Virginia for more than a century. We wish the college well as it moves forward, knowing how difficult this decision to change the mission of the institution in fundamental ways has been. But we also note that R-MWC's decision means that one less option now exists for young women to gain the advantages that come from attending an excellent college focused boldly on women."^[47]

[edit] Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke College President Joanne V. Creighton states in a 21 May 2007 article, "some might think that women's colleges are now redundant or outmoded and that they should, therefore, follow Radcliffe's example by either assimilating into a formerly all-male institution or going coed themselves. While many have done so, about 60 women's colleges remain in this country, and only one of the "Seven Sisters," Vassar, went coed and did that in 1969, nearly 40 years ago. Why do Mount Holyoke, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Smith, and Wellesley -- and dozens of other women's colleges -- stubbornly carry on as single-sex institutions?" ^[48] She responds to this question by suggesting a link between Drew Gilpin Faust's (a woman's college graduate) new role as Harvard University's first female president and the continuing importance of women's colleges. She also compares women's colleges to Virginia Woolf's, A Room of One's Own. ^[49]This article was taken from a longer paper, "A Tradition of Their Own or, If a Woman Can Now Be President of Harvard, Why Do We Still Need Women's Colleges?" delivered at the Harvard Graduate School of Education on April 16, 2007.^[50]

[edit] Other colleges

Immaculata University and Lesley College also announced that they would be adopting coeducation around this time and became coeducational in 2005. In 2006, H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was dissolved as part of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (it is now a part of Tulane University). In 2007, Douglass College of Rutgers University merged with the coed Rutgers College, changing its name to the Douglass Residential College. While a part of Rutgers, it will offer dormitories and classes exclusively for women. Regis College became coeducational in 2007.

[edit] Famous alumnae of women's colleges

Women's colleges in the United States have produced a number of important alumnae in the arts, politics, and in the sciences. ^[51]

Actors, authors, dancers, and directors:

• Madeleine Blais- Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author is a 1969 graduate of The College of New Rochelle
• Margaret Wise Brown, author of Good Night Moon was a 1932 graduate of Hollins University
• Pearl Sydenstricker Buck, author of The Good Earth and the first woman to win both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes, was a 1914 graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman's College
• Sofia Coppola attended Mills College and is a director
• Ruby Dee attended Hunter College and is an actor
• Kiran Desai is a graduate of Hollins University and an author and recipient of the Man Booker Prize in 2006
• Emily Dickinson attended Mount Holyoke College (then Mount Holyoke Female Seminary} and was a noted American poet
• Annie Dillard, Pultizer Prize winning author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was a 1967 graduate of Hollins University
• Betty Friedan was a 1942 graduate of Smith College and an author and noted feminist
• Katharine Hepburn was a 1928 graduate of Bryn Mawr College and was an actress
• H.D. attended Bryn Mawr College and was a modernist poet
• Zora Neale Hurston was a 1928 graduate of Barnard College and an author
• Jhumpa Lahiri is a 1989 graduate of Barnard College and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Sally Mann, photographer was a 1974 graduate of Hollins University
• Marianne Moore was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and was a modernist poet
• Suzan-Lori Parks is a 1985 graduate of Mount Holyoke College and a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
• Sylvia Plath was a 1955 graduate of Smith College and an important American author and poet
• Mercedes Ruehl - Academy Award-winning stage and screen actress is a 1969 graduate of The College of New Rochelle
• Lee Smith, author of The Last Girls was a 1967 graduate of Hollins University
• Gertrude Stein graduated from Radcliffe College and was a modernist author and critic
• Meryl Streep is a graduate of Vassar College and a noted actress
• Twyla Tharp graduated from Barnard College in 1963 and is noted figure in the world of dance
• Suzanne Vega is a graduate of Barnard College and is a noted musician
• Alice Walker attended Spelman College and Sarah Lawrence College and is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Wendy Wasserstein was a 1971 graduate of Mount Holyoke College and a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright

College Presidents:

• Drew Gilpin Faust is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the first female president of Harvard University
• Nancy Cantor is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, was the Chancellor of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is President of Syracuse University.
• Carol T. Christ is a graduate of Douglass College (now part of Rutgers University) and the current president of Smith College.

Government officials:

• Madeleine Albright is a 1959 graduate of Wellesley College and the first woman Secretary of State
• Elaine Chao is a 1975 graduate of Mount Holyoke College and, as the Secretary of Labor, is the first Asian American woman to be appointed to the President's Cabinet
• Hillary Rodham Clinton is a 1969 graduate of Wellesley College and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election. She is currently the junior United States Senator from New York, serving since 2001, and is a former First Lady of the United States (1993-2001)
• Geraldine Ferraro is a 1956 graduate of Marymount Manhattan College and is the first and only woman to date to represent a major U.S. political party as a candidate for Vice President (Ferraro and running mate Walter Mondale were defeated in 1984)
• Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick first female U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., graduate of Stephens College (then a 2-year institution) and later Barnard College
• Nancy Pelosi is a 1962 graduate of Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University) and is the first woman Speaker of the House
• Frances Perkins a 1902 graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the first woman cabinet member (U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933-1945 under Franklin D. Roosevelt)

Journalists:

• Ann Compton, news reporter for ABC and inductee of the Radio Hall of Fame is a graduate of Hollins University.
• Cokie Roberts is a 1964 graduate of Wellesley College
• Diane Sawyer is a 1967 graduate of Wellesley College
• Gloria Steinem is a 1956 graduate of Smith College
• Barbara Walters is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College
• Paula Zahn is a graduate of Stephens College

Social scientists, computer scientists, and computer graphics artists:

• Ruth Benedict a 1909 graduate of Vassar College and a noted anthropologist
• Grace Hopper 1928 graduate of Vassar College and a computer scientist who developed the first compiler for a computer programming language
• Susan Kare is a 1975 graduate of Mount Holyoke College and is the original designer of many of the interface elements for the original Apple Macintosh
• Stephanie Kwolek is a 1946 graduate of Margaret Morrison Carnegie College and is the inventor of the Kevlar
• Margaret Mead a 1923 graduate of Barnard College and a noted anthropologist
• Jean E. Sammet is a 1948 graduate of Mount Holyoke College and is the inventor of the FORMAC programming language

Miscellaneous:

• Charlotte Fox, first woman to climb Mt. Everest, was a 1979 of Hollins University
• Anne Sweeney Co-Chair Disney Media Networks and President, Disney-ABC Television Group is a graduate of The College of New Rochelle

[edit] See also

• List of current and historical women's universities and colleges in the United States
• Liberal arts colleges in the United States
• Men's colleges in the United States
• Sisters' college

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Women's College Coalition
• All women, and thriving - News and Observer
• In Virginia, three elite women's colleges reinvent themselves and find a new mission in a coed world - 06 November 2006 Newsweek article on Sweet Briar College, Hollins University, and Mary Baldwin College
• New study finds women’s colleges are better equipped to help their students - Indiana University