Bryn Mawr College, the liberal arts educational institution for women in suburban Philadelphia has had a longstanding cooperative relationship with nearby Haverford College, a co-educational institution where women make up a slight majority of the 1,200 undergraduate students. For many years, students at Bryn Mawr have been able to register for classes at Haverford, access the integrated library system, and attend social and culture events at Haverford. There are seven academic program that are run in a partnership between the two highly rated liberal arts colleges. For example, students at both colleges who major in music and fine arts take their classes at Haverford, while students in theater and dance take their classes at Bryn Mawr.
Recently, the two college formalized their partnership by signing the Bi-College Consortium. Under the new agreement, a Bi-College Council will be created, a two-campus steering committee will be established, and a central office administration structure for record keeping related to the consortium will be created.
Kim Cassidy, president of Bryn Mawr College, stated that “it is rare for students to have the opportunity to take such full advantage of the resources of two different colleges. We are all the beneficiaries of past generations of faculty, alumnae/i, and students who recognized that Haverford and Bryn Mawr were uniquely positioned to create a rich and distinctive partnership.”
Kim Benston, president of Haverford College, added that “we are so fortunate to have as neighbors a peer institution of such excellence whose values mesh with ours. We are a far stronger Haverford for having Bryn Mawr as a partner.”