The College of New Rochelle in New York was founded by the Ursuline Sisters in 1904 as the College of St. Angela. It was the first Catholic college for women in New York State. The college assumed its current name in 1910. Men were first admitted to graduate programs in 1969. Today, the college enrolls about 3,100 students in undergraduate programs and 650 students in its co-educational graduate programs. Undergraduate programs in the School of Arts & Sciences at the main campus in New Rochelle are open only to women. Some bachelor’s degree programs, including nursing and degree programs at satellite campuses, are co-educational.
Now, Judith Huntington, president of the College of New Rochelle, has been instructed by the board of trustees to determine if converting the School of Arts & Sciences to a fully coeducational institution is a good idea. In a statement, the college said that since only 5 percent of women high school students consider applying to a women’s college, “transitioning to coeducation may in fact enable the College of New Rochelle to appeal to a greater number of female students, thus further advancing the mission of the college’s Ursuline founders.”
If the decision to admit men is made, they would live on campus in separate wings or floors of the college’s dormitories. Men could be admitted for the class entering the college in the fall of 2016. The administration believes that an entering class that is 30 percent male is possible.
Awareness of the benefits of women’s colleges needs to be raised with the public in general and high school girls specifically. 20% of women in congress & 30% of women on Fortune1000 boards went to women’s colleges although only 2% of female graduates did. That means that in any given coffee shop and laundromat you walk into, 2% of women there should be from women’s colleges, but you walk into Congress and it’s 10 times what it should be. Ten. Times.
A young woman is 1.5 times more likely to stick with a hard science at a women’s college. Why? Because there’s a lot of discouragement out there. There’s one in every crowd and classroom plus a bunch who buy into the idea that women aren’t as good at math. That bunch often includes the professor.
Many women’s colleges, including Agnes Scott and Bryn Mawr, announced their largest incoming freshmen class in their schools’ histories this year. Word is getting out. I sincerely hope they decide against going co-ed.