Given the complex and gendered messages college women receive about their future professional and personal lives, a woman's college experiences play an important role in helping her make difficult life choices. In this article, we present a narrative analysis of the envisioned futures of students at two Catholic women's colleges in the Midwestern…

The recent announcement that Randolph-Macon Woman's College will admit male students has triggered yet another round in the continuing debate over women's colleges. At Randolph-Macon itself, the news was met with the usual mix of public displays: As students and alumnae protested with signs reading "Coed is a four-letter word," administrators and…

The ideology of higher education for women at Wellesley College in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is discussed in the context of feminism and the women's suffrage movement. "Symmetrical womanhood," a concept emphasizing balance of traditional roles and intellectual and community involvement, was a goal of Wellesley faculty of…

Discussion of the role of small liberal arts colleges for women focuses on the role and impact of information technology based on the views of Maggie O'Brien, president of Hollins College. Topics addressed include a computer networking project developed with partnerships with businesses; communicating at a distance; and future possibilities. (LRW)

The mission of Catholic colleges and universities and their responses to change are discussed in four articles. Historical information on Catholic women's colleges and the current picture are reviewed by Abigail McCarthy in "A Luminous Minority." The revision of the curriculum at Fordham College is described by James N. Loughran in…

A 5-year effort to project a new and more realistic public image and to bring about improvements in student recruiting and fund-raising for a small, private, liberal arts women's college is described. The changes included offering bachelor's degrees for the first time and building pride and support among alumnae. (MSE)

Queens College, a women's liberal arts institution, regained prosperity by maintaining its traditional, quality undergraduate offerings and adding coeducational graduate and continuing education programs and degree options for mature women. (MSE)

The history of the study of religion at Wellesley College from its founding in 1875 until 1980 is considered. Initially, faculty were sought who possessed expressed Christian character and were able to instruct in the bible, which was a study requirement until 1968. The predominantly Protestant-Christian orientation of the religion department…

A project at Alverno College, a Catholic liberal arts college for women, that focuses on the way liberal education can enhance the undergraduate student's growth in ethical perception, moral reasoning, and related abilities, is described. Attention is directed to how commitment to this project began 10 years ago and to general philosophic and…