Diversity has been a focus of higher education policy, law, and scholarship for decades, continually expanding to include not only race, ethnicity and gender, but also socioeconomic status, sexual and political orientation, and more. However, existing collections still tend to focus on a narrow definition of diversity in education, or in relation…

Essays include: some considerations on the higher education of women (Rosemary Park); three women, creators of change (Esther Raushenbush); women's education, the case for the single-sex college (Susan Romer Kaplan); liberal arts education and women's development (C. Robert Pace); women's studies, its origin, organization, and prospects (Sheila…

This book outlines approaches to teaching and learning that can address the diverse needs of students of different genders, races, ethnicities, classes, ages, and sexual orientations. The text focuses on strategies that optimize women's educational experiences, particularly education that is women-centered, and the attendant strategies that…

This book looks at why women's colleges continue to produce graduates whose career achievement is significantly higher than that of peers educated in coeducational settings. The book suggests that there is a loss of women's talent in coeducational institutions and that institutional priorities, patterns, and principles at women's colleges offer…

Twelve essays by contemporary scholars explore, from a historical perspective, the meaning of collegiate coeducation in the United States, including its value, utility, significance, and successes and failures in supplying equal education for both sexes. An introductory first section contains the essay "Coeducation in a Gender-Stratified…

The history of the Mississippi University for Women (MUW) from 1884 to 1984 is described. MUW, the first state-supported college for women is now coeducational, but adheres to its original mission of providing educational opportunity for women. Educational, administrative, and architectural developments are traced, with attention to leaders who…

The creation and development of 10 women's colleges are discussed: Mount Holyoke, Vassar, Wellesley, Smith, Radcliffe, Bryn Mawr, and Barnard (the Seven Sisters colleges), and Sarah Lawrence, Bennington, and Scripps. Consideration is given to: how each of these colleges offered to women an education equal to that offered by the best men's…

This book focuses on approximately 250 nonprofit, two-year colleges with a student body that is entirely female or at least 25% Black, Hispanic, or Native American. These special-focus colleges include two-year colleges, historically black colleges (HBC), Hispanic-serving institutions (HIS), and tribal colleges, with some of the schools being…

This book traces the development of competitive admission and financial aid policies at a selected group of 16 liberal arts colleges in Ohio and Massachusetts over the period 1955 to 1994. Exploring the way institutional decisions reflect and respond to broad demographic, economic, political, and social forces, the book considers the challenges…

The early history of Bennington College, Vermont, beginning with initial endeavors by Vincent Ravi Booth in 1923, is examined. Topics include: granting of a satisfactory charter to the college; the role of educators such as Amy Kelly and William Heard Kilpatrick in initial curriculum recommendations; electing Robert Devore Leigh as president;…

The efforts of Mary Lyon, virtually singlehandedly, to raise money, recruit students, and plan the academic development of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, founded in 1837, are detailed in this book. The founder sought to educate women through rigorous application of the intellect, which she believed to lead to salvation. In doing so she…

The social, cultural, and economic circumstances that have shaped the development of women's higher education are discussed. After considering colonial America when women were outsiders to liberal arts institutions, the creation of women's and co-educational colleges is traced and the process by which women of different ethnic, racial, religious,…

This book is an analysis of the educational experiences of the generation of women students who attended U.S. colleges and universities during the Progressive Era (1890-1920). Five case studies examine the evolution of campus life at various schools in the United States. Three single-sex institutions, Vassar College (New York), Sophie Newcomb…

The role of women in higher education during the past two decades is assessed, and dramatic changes are noted. Information for this collaborative work comes from a 4-year study by the Task Force on Women in Higher Education. Five sections have the following titles and subject matter: (1) "Introduction" (historical background and overview…

Discrimination against women in U.S. society and the academic world is detailed in the eight chapters of this book. Inconsistencies in American society, and arbitrary societal standards that have perpetuated discriminatory behavior toward women are examined. Part I focuses on the socialization process that women undergo as Americans and as women…