The University of Saint Joseph to Consider Transitioning to Co-Education

The University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut, was founded in 1932 by the Sisters of Mercy of Connecticut. Since its founding, full-time undergraduate programs have been restricted to women. Co-educational graduate programs and adult learning program were later introduced.

In recent years, the university has seen a drop in undergraduate enrollments. The college reports there are 747 undergraduate students this fall, down 58 students from 2012. And the college stated that there are 25 fewer students in this year’s entering class than the goal set by the admissions staff.

The university’s statement of core values includes the clause: “The University of Saint Joseph encourages, inspires, and challenges each woman to develop every aspect of her personhood: intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, and physical.” But n0w, Rhona Free, president of the University of St. Joseph, has announced that she is establishing a task force that will examine if it is advisable to admit men into its full-time undergraduates programs. President Free told the Hartford Courant, “I really do believe in the power of women’s education, and if we were to decide to admit men, we would do that if we see evidence that it would allow us to enhance the experience of undergraduate women.”

Dr. Free became president of the university in July 2015. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame.