Although the number of African-American women who attended the elite Seven Sisters colleges prior to 1900 was small, these women were highly influential. Early integration is discussed for: (1) Wellesley College; (2) Radcliffe College; (3) Smith College; (4) Mount Holyoke College; (5) Bryn Mawr College; (6) Vassar College; and (7) Barnard College.…

The planning and problems associated with the 1975 Congressional mandate calling for the integration of women into the U.S. Air Force Academy are described. The book examines how Air Force planners made decisions and whether their decisions were effective. Beliefs that were previously held inviolable--that upper body strength is important, that…

This collection of essays describes women's ongoing search for equity at Brown University, Rhode Island, since their first entrance there in 1891. After a preface by Joan W. Scott and an introduction by Polly Welts Kaufman, the volume contains the following 10 essays: "The Woman's Club Movement Creates and Defines the Women's College" by…

Views on the importance of the woman's contributions to shaping culture and the role of female leadership at Mount Holyoke College are considered. According to historian Mary Ritter Beard, the "woman's tradition" of imparting a progressive social consciousness to the culture has been an important influence. Beard addressed Mount Holyoke…

Reviews the history of Black women's higher education and focuses on three issues: (1) coeducation versus single sex institutions, (2) curricular needs, and (3) psycho-social needs of Black women. Cites examples from two major Black women's colleges. (KH)

Reviews literature on the history of women in higher education in the United States, focusing on colleges for women (specifically Bryn Mawr and Wellesley) in comparison with each other and coeducational colleges (specifically Oberlin and the University of Michigan). Discusses women's access at the community college level. (DMM)

Based on information on women who attended Oberlin College between 1833 and 1860, a sketch is drawn on the lives of American females during that period. Attention is directed to such demographic factors as the area of the country from which they entered the Oberlin College, the number of years they remained at the college, their mobility,…

Orthodox medical education for women in the nineteenth century is examined to determine to what extent women's actual experience reflected their stated goals. It is contended that although women successfully founded some medical schools providing creditable, and in some cases outstanding, training to females, women physicians' ambivalence about…

Reviews the history of arguments opposing coeducation in the university setting. Traces the arguments chronologically in order to detect patterns and processes. Concludes that, although the Victorian fears of association between males and females are no longer accepted, our patriarchal institutions remain intact in higher education. (KO)

This book examines the many popular representations of student life at women's colleges produced in the United States during the Progressive Era. According to the book, in hundreds of college novels, newspaper accounts, popular periodical essays, and scientific treatises, the "college woman" was described and defined in a period when…

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…

Organizational change at Wells College, New York, is traced from 1876-1905 in relation to women's role in higher education. This excerpt of a larger study indicates how women worked within a female college that had male authority figures at a time in which there were strong notions about proper feminine behavior. The college was intended to train…

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,…

Women faculty at Wellesley College in the Progressive Era were not only the best female academics of their generation, they also created a rich social life and sense of community among themselves. At the same time they maintained a commitment to social activism. Their accomplishments and limitations are discussed. (IS)

Social and historical perspectives on academic women in the United States are considered. Progress of academic women during the past decade, factors associated with scholarly achievement, and prospects for the 1980s are examined. Women's entry into higher education, first as students and later as faculty members, began quite recently. At about the…