The nation‘s oldest Catholic liberal arts college for women is going coed after being an all-women's school for 175 years.
The Board of Trustees of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute voted unanimously to admit undergraduate men for classes on campus for the first time.
The board made the move after about a year of debate and after studying a survey that said fewer than 2 percent of young women would consider attending a college that taught women only.
"We cannot be relevant to all women when 98 percent of women will not consider us, said Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College President Dottie King. "No one doubts the power of the single gender educational experience. However, the number of women who will perceive such as a choice hinders its relevance in today's world."
The number of women-only colleges in the U.S. has shrunk from 230 in 1960 to 48 today.
Of those, most, like Saint Mary-Of-The-Woods, admit men to some classes, such as graduate and online programs.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods began admitting male graduate students in 1984, and men could enroll in undergraduate distance-learning classes beginning in 2005, though they were not eligible for undergraduate degrees.
The college has around 1,700 students, most of them undergraduates.
"We have reached a defining moment in our 175-year history to enhance excellence amidst changes that are both challenges and opportunities," said King.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods was founded in 1840 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin of the Sisters of Providence, who came to Indiana from a convent in France. Guerin became Indiana‘s first saint when she was canonized by Pope Benedict in 2006.
King says she will appoint an implementation team comprised of alumnae, faculty, staff, board members and student that will address academics, athletics, campus culture, facilities, security, student life and ways to advance the legacy of women's leadership.
