All Entries in the "Women’s Colleges" Category
Website Offers Its Choices for the Best Women’s Colleges in the United States
Wellesley College in Massachusetts was rated as the best women’s college in the nation by the College Choice website. Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, was ranked second with Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania holding the third spot.
Sweet Briar College to Begin a Search for a New President
Phil Stone, who has led the college for the past year after alumnae raised money to prevent its planned closure, has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2016-17 academic year.
Sweet Briar College Launches a Leadership Program for Chinese Women Students
Under the agreement Sweet Briar College’s Women’s Leadership Program will host Chinese women students who will come to Virginia to study liberal arts and STEM disciplines. The Women’s Leadership Program will feature two summer sessions for Chinese students at a partner university in Washington, D.C.
Mount Holyoke College to Offer a New Concentration in Data Science
The data science concentration will be one of nine in the college’s Nexus Program which is designed to incorporate career goals with a liberal arts education. Women in the concentration will have to take advanced level courses in statistics and computer science and complete an internship relating to the field.
Chatham University, Which Just Went Co-Educational, Hires a Man as President
In the fall of 2015, Chatham University in Pittsburgh admitted men to its traditional undergraduate programs for the first time. Enrollment in the entering class doubled from the year earlier. Now a man has been named the next president of the former women’s college.
Wellesley College Partners With Ashoka University in India
The five-year agreement calls for the joint development of course content, research collaborations for faculty members and students, faculty exchanges, and possible student exchanges and study abroad opportunities.
First Students Complete the New MBA Program at St. Catherine University
Traditional undergraduate programs at St. Catherine University in Minnesota are reserved for women. But the university also enrolls about 1,500 students in co-educational graduate programs. Recently, the first 18 students completed study in the university’s new MBA program. Seventeen are women.
Sweet Briar College Adds Two Intercollegiate Sports
Just about a year ago, Sweet Briar College, a liberal arts educational institution for women in Virginia, announced that it would close in August 2015. Alumnae saved the day and now the college is expanding its intercollegiate sports offerings.
Three Women’s Colleges Among the Top Producers of Peace Corps Volunteers
Simmons College in Boston ranked eighth among the small colleges and universities. Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and Wellesley College in Massachusetts also were among the top 25 small colleges with the most graduates serving in the Peace Corps.
Women’s College to Offer Free Study Abroad Opportunity for All Sophomore Students
Cedar Crest College, a liberal arts college for women in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has announced the Sophomore Expedition where all second-year students in good academic standing will participate in a free study-abroad program during spring break.
Mount Holyoke Alumnae Participating in Document Archival Project on the College’s History
Mount Holyoke College, the selective liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is using alumnae and other friends of the college to transcribe letters and diaries from the college’s Archives and Special Collections unit.
Wellesley College Offers the First MOOCs in Italian Language and Culture
Wellesley College, the highly rated and selective liberal arts college for women in Massachusetts, has announced the establishment of three massive open online courses (MOOCs) in beginning, intermediate, and advanced Italian. The MOOCs are taught by Daniela Bartalesi-Graf, a lecturer in Italian studies.
Alumnae Lose Another Battle to Reverse Co-Education at Wilson College
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by alumnae of Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, that sought to reverse a decision by the Pennsylvania Department of Education permitting the college to become co-educational.
Mills College Goes “Test Optional” and Joins Forces to Boost Student Diversity
Mills College, the liberal arts educational institution for women in Oakland, California, has announced that it will no longer require applicants to submit standardized test scores. The college has also joined the Oakland Promise College Pathway Partnership.
More than 1,000 Students Apply to Sweet Briar College
The women’s college in Virginia that was saved from closure by alumnae last year reports that it has received the largest number of applications in the past 50 years. It hopes to enroll 200 first-year students this coming fall.
Website Issues Its Rankings of the Nation’s Best Women’s Colleges
The educational research website StartClass.com rates women’s colleges on factors such as affordability, career readiness programs, admissions selectivity, academic ratings, and experts’ opinions. Wellesley College in Massachusetts sits atop the rankings.
Mississippi University for Women Eyes a Return to Intercollegiate Athletics
In 2002 the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus discontinued intercollegiate athletics after a devastating tornado destroyed a primary sports venue on campus. Now the university is taking steps to return to intercollegiate athletics competition.
Mount Holyoke Has Established Language-Themed Floors in a Residence Hall
The college has a Spanish floor and a French floor in Mead Hall. The floors are open to any student including those who speak French or Spanish as their native tongue and those that are just beginning to learn the language.
Wellesley College Boosts Its Support Network for Multicultural Women
Wellesley College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution for women in Massachusetts, announced plans to enhance and add to existing multicultural centers on campus and to create a network of multicultural groups.
Mills College to Retain Its Undergraduate Major in Dance
Mills College, the liberal arts educational institution for women in Oakland, California, has decided to continue to offer an undergraduate degree program in dance. The college had announced earlier this year that the major would be eliminated.
The College of New Rochelle Will Transition to Full Co-Education
Since its founding in 1904, undergraduate programs in the School of Arts & Sciences at the main campus of The College of New Rochelle in New York have been open only to women. But beginning in the fall of 2016, these undergraduate programs will also be open to men.
Scholarship Program at Texas Woman’s University Earmarked for Nontraditional Students
The Empowering Women as Leaders scholarship program is designed to help nontraditional college students afford to continue their education at Texas Woman’s University in Denton after taking time off to work or raise a family.
Proceeds From a New Book on Sweet Briar College Are Earmarked to Help the College Financially
A new book offers a photographic account of the history of the campus of Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Proceeds from the book will be donated back to the college in an effort to shore up the financial position of the educational institution.
Meredith College Partners With a College of Osteopathic Medicine
Meredith College, the liberals arts educational institution for women in Raleigh, North Carolina, has teamed up with the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, a private, non-profit osteopathic medical school located on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
Smith College to Offer a MOOC on the Psychology of Women’s Activism
The new online course, taught by psychology professor Lauren E. Duncan, is entitled “Psychology of Political Activism: Women Changing the World.” The course will begin in March 2016 and run for seven weeks. It is free to all participants.
Another Women’s College Considering a Switch to Coeducation
The College of New Rochelle in New York was founded by the the Ursuline Sisters in 1904. It was the first Catholic college for women in New York State. Now, the college is considering admitting men to all of the bachelor’s degree programs that to date have been restricted to women.
Women’s College to Offer a New Master’s Degree Program in Translation
Mills College, the private liberal arts educational institution for women in Oakland, California, has announced that is offering a new “low-residency” master of fine arts degree in translation. The graduate degree program is open to both men and women.
Smith College’s Oral History Project on Women of Rock Music
The video interviews and written transcripts put together by Tanya Pearson, an Ada Comstock Scholar at the college, will become part of the Sophia Smith Collection at the Smith College library.
Colorado Women’s College Ponders Its Future
Colorado Women’s College announced that after the 2015-16 academic year it would transition from a traditional stand-alone college for women to a new educational model that is still in development.
Andrea Lee Announces She Will Step Down as President of St. Catherine University
Andrea Lee, president of St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, announced that she will end her 18-year tenure as president on July 1, 2016. She became president of the Catholic university for women in 1998.
Bryn Mawr College Honors Its First Black Alumna
Bryn Mawr College in suburban Philadelphia has named its new residence hall to honor Enid Cook. Cook was not permitted to live on campus but graduated in 1931 with degrees in chemistry and biology.
Elizabeth Fleming Announces Her Plan to Retire as President of Converse College
Elizabeth A. Fleming, the ninth president of Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, has announced that she will step down at the end of the current academic year. Dr. Fleming will have led the women’s college for 11 years.
The Only On-Campus MBA Program for Women Is Closing
Simmons College in Boston has seen declining enrollments in its on-campus MBA program for women. So it is now moving its MBA programs exclusively online and the new programs will be available for both men and women. Students in the new online MBA will have the option of an elective gender component.
A New Digital Archive Showing Life at Mount Holyoke College in the Early Twentieth Century
Mount Holyoke College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts, has debuted a new online digital archive of about 2,000 rare photographs documenting life at the college from 1899 to 1939.
Meredith College Reports Increases in Enrollments and Retention
While many women’s colleges have been struggling to attract students, Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, reports encouraging news. Enrollments are up for the second consecutive year and the college’s retention rate is the highest in more than a decade.
