Peace College in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has admitted only women since it was founded in 1857, has announced that men will be admitted for the class that will enroll in the fall of 2012. Recently men were admitted to night courses and online degree programs at the college.
The move to coeducation was made to attract more students, increase enrollments, and shore up the college’s finances. In a statement, the college said that it will offer “single-gender courses in targeted disciplines where research shows that women and men learn differently and that each benefit from a single-gender classroom.”
The institution is also changing its name to William Peace University to honor the founder of the school. Peace was a local businessman and elder of the Raleigh First Presbyterian Church. He donated eight acres of land and $10,000 in start-up funds for the college.