The institution now known as Texas Woman’s University in Denton was founded in 1901 as Girls Industrial College. In 1934 the institution became known as Texas State College for Women. Its name was changed to its present designation in 1957. The stated goal of the institution was “to prepare young women for the practical industries of the age with a specialized education.”
Men were admitted to the university for the first time in 1972. But today, women still make up 90 percent of the undergraduate student body at the university.
Despite new state regulations standardizing the core curriculum to some degree across all publicly operated colleges and universities in the state, Texas Woman’s University recently announced that women’s studies will remain a requirement at the university.
Barbara Lerner, associate provost for undergraduate studies and academic partnerships stated, “We thought multicultural women’s studies deserved a place of recognition in our core. It speaks to us as an institution and what we value, and the elements of that discipline are important for our students to understand.”