Examines the world of women's colleges in Victorian Britain, presenting much biographical information and period detail, with an aim toward illuminating the emotional and sexual dynamics of this milieu. (DM)

In March 1989, the Justice Department began investigating the admissions policy of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Summarizes the legal theories advanced by both the VMI Foundation and Virginia's woman attorney general in defense of VMI's all-male tradition. Compares past single-sex admission cases with the VMI arguments. (MLF)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth District, although stopping short of ordering the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) to admit women, ordered VMI to implement a program which comports with the requirements of equal protection. Offers an analysis of the Fourth Circuit's ruling, a discussion of important educational questions, and a…

Presents interview with Sister Joel Read, who offers candid, insightful, and provocative perspective of unique role of Catholic women's colleges and how their history and tradition of social action and service and their urban base distinguish them from 50% of non-Catholic women's colleges. Describes Alverno College's unique model of self-directed,…

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.…

Discusses how, as Spelman and Bennett colleges both search for new presidents, finding and keeping leaders for historically Black women's colleges is becoming a growing challenge. (EV)

No matter what social goals or federal laws exist, it will be a long time before the informal social environment in America's male-dominated colleges and universities will serve women students as well as men, suggests the president of Smith College. Until then "for women only" institutions are needed. (Author/LBH)

Replicating and updating M. Elizabeth Tidball's 1973 study, this study of 1,307 women achievers corroborates earlier findings that women's colleges produce proportionately more high female achievers than do coeducational schools. Factors that may have contributed to this are discussed. (BJV)

Describes the capital campaign, business strategies, and facilities program at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, which are attempting to tap into the school's history to stay competitive in the marketplace. (EV)

A federal appeals court has ruled that there are legitimate reasons a state can operate a single-sex college, provided appropriate programs exist for men and women. Virginia Military Institute provides "adversative" education, grueling physical training without privacy, that would suffer if women were admitted. A proposed separate…

Describes impact of Mount Holyoke Seminary, later Mount Holyoke College, on training of women scientists in late 1800s and early 1900s. Describes origins and development of Mount Holyoke and its emphasis on science education for women. Concludes that large number of female role models on faculty was one reason for the college's success in…

The influence of attending a women's college on early career attainments was assessed through a national sample of college students. When controlled for individual background and aspirations and for college selectivity and size, the net impact of attending a women's college on five measures of attainment was reduced to nonsignificance. (Author/MSE)

Female students from two Southern women's colleges were interviewed to determine how they felt their college experience had impacted their aspiration for an advanced degree. Students perceived different levels of institutional support for the value of advanced graduate study, and found that conflicting messages about women's roles in society had a…

This study compared the experiences of women attending women's colleges with those of women attending coeducational institutions. Analyses of data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) from random samples of female first-year and senior students from 26 women's colleges and 264 other four-year institutions were conducted. Women at…

The new president of Spelman College, Johnnetta Cole, would like to make Spelman the leading center of international thought on the condition of Black women in the world. She wants to remain active as an academician and is finding time to pursue her scholarly work. (MLW)