This is a history of Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, from 1868 until 1981. It attempts to discover why Wilson, a small, private liberal arts college for women, managed to survive despite financial and enrolment problems which forced many other institutions to close in the 1960s and 1970s. / This thesis locates Wilson historically among institutions of higher learning in the United States; traces the development of the College in terms of its founding, governance, curriculum, and campus life; and examines events leading up to Wilson's near demise in 1979. Wilson's small size, its practice of encouraging congenial interaction between students and faculty, its commitment to teaching, its long term affiliation with the Presbyterian Church, and its close ties with the community of Chambersburg are cited as factors contributing to Wilson's renaissance. / What makes Wilson more interesting than other small women's colleges of its class was the fact that its alumnae, students, and faculty successfully fought the Trustees' decision to close the College because of financial pressures and dwindling enrolment. In 1979 Wilson became the only college in the United States ever ordered to remain open by a court of law.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1971. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Walter E. Sindlinger. Dissertation Committee: Richard Videbeck. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-110).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-169).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed July 13, 2010) Philo A. Hutcheson, committee chair; Deron Boyles, Sheryl Gowen, Wayne J. Urban, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-208).

This collection of interwoven short stories revolves around a small Southern women's college and its inhabitants. Written in first-person from various perspectives, the stories combine, much like Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, to create a final cohesive work that is not quite a novel. Main characters include the gentle, introspective teenage son of a faculty member, the garrulous student with whom he is enamored, and her skeptic of a half-sister. One parallel narrative involves a search for self and story through music and musicians, the other via a campus ghost. The focus, as with Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding, is character-driven rather than plot-based. Shared experiences--an ice storm, a betrayal by college trustees--are viewed through multiple characters, leading to a decision each, though searching for connection, must make alone.

Women's college culture has been found to have qualities that promote the success of the women who graduate from these institutions. This research sought to identify aspects of women's college culture that students perceive as having impacted their aspirations for an advanced degree. Fifty-eight women at two southern women's colleges were interviewed. The participants were members of each college's senior class and had spent their entire undergraduate years at the same institution. After an email solicitation was sent to all members of the senior class, participants were accepted until there were eight women in each of the three categories. These three categories; Keepers, Droppers, and Aspirers; were developed in order to study participant perceptions by whether they maintained or dropped their previous educational aspirations or had developed new aspirations for an advanced degree while attending a women's college. The interviews were completed over a two-month period with each interview lasting from 45 to 60 minutes. Participants were asked about the importance of aspects of women's college culture on their aspirations for an advanced degree as well as other factors that they perceived as having influenced their decision whether or not to pursue an advanced degree. The majority of the White women in this study confirmed the positive impacts of women's college culture including high academic expectations, a mission and history that supports women, more female role models, a caring, supportive environment, and an abundance of opportunities for involvement and to learn about oneself. In addition, participants confirmed the importance of peer relationships and romantic relationships on their educational aspirations. Some women, however, perceived these same factors as having a negative impact on their degree aspirations. These negative impacts included the Bubble effect, in which women felt that the women's college experience had sheltered them from the realities of the world outside of their present environment, the Burn-Out effect from over involvement in extra-curricular and academic activities, and confusion over field of study interest due to the many opportunities to learn about oneself offered by a liberal arts curriculum. Other findings indicate that despite the supportive environment of women's colleges, women's college students still perceive romantic relationships as negatively impacting their or their friend's aspirations for an advanced degree. In addition, the need to be taken seriously, whether their families are supportive of further education, and how well informed they are about financial aid issues, all were reported to impact educational aspirations. Unexpectedly, male role models were found to have a positive impact on women's aspirations despite the many female role models at women's colleges.The African American women college students in this study reported their experiences of attending a women's college much differently than did the White women. Although they felt they had received a quality education, the African American women were dissatisfied with the lack of representation of the African American culture at the women's college they attended. They felt the women's college culture had negatively impacted their aspirations for an advanced degree because of the lack of representation of African American culture in the women's college environment. Almost all African American women in this study dropped their previous aspirations for an advanced degree because of the discouraging effect of the overwhelmingly White culture of the colleges they attended.Overall, this study found that college culture was perceived to have a clear positive impact for one group of students, no significant impact for another, and a negative impact for the third group of students. In addition, based on the perceptions of the students and the researcher's limited observations, the two colleges were found to have institutional cultures that differentiate themselves from each other. This finding challenges previous researchers' assumptions that all women's colleges share a single culture.This study adds to previous literature about women's college culture and aspirations for an advanced degree in a number of important ways. Key findings include the identification of negative, as well as positive, impacts of women's college culture for some women, the importance of male role models for women's college students, and the dissatisfaction of the African American women in the study with their experience at a woman's college. / Ph. D.

No description available.

GIVING VOICE TO STUDENT AND ALUMNAE OPPOSITION DURING THE TRANSITION TO COEDUCTION BY A COLLEGE FOR WOMEN By Rebecca Jean Grandstaff Clarke, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011. Co-Director: Mary Hermann, J.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Counselor Education School of Education Co-Director: Teresa J. Carter, Ed.D. Assistant Professor and Adult Learning Program Coordinator, Teaching and Learning Department School of Education This dissertation provides insight into students‘ and alumnae‘s experiences during the transition and legal proceedings as their former college for women transitioned to coeducation. Previous research on the transition of single-sex colleges to coeducation has primarily examined the process from an organizational perspective. This study focuses on the participants‘ personal and intimate involvement in these events. A phenomenological approach was utilized (Creswell, 1998; Moustakas, 1994). Data collection was through in-depth interviews with three students who recently graduated from the college and acted as the plaintiffs during the legal challenge and four alumnae who served as leaders of the opposition group funding the legal challenge. Data analyses lead to the development of textural and structural themes which described the essence of the experience. The results of the study indicated that the admission of men changed the campus and classroom environment at this former women‘s college. Classroom dynamics changed; campus crime increased; and the students engaged in acts of physical confrontation and intimidation. Aspects of the students‘ and alumnae‘s experiences left an indelible impression on their lives. For the students, participating in the student protests over the coeducation decision was a transformative experience, resulting in a stronger sense of social activism. The experience of supporting and funding the legal challenge ultimately caused the alumnae to lose faith in the educational and legal systems. The study has implications for college boards and administrators considering coeducation, for alumnae considering a legal challenge to a decision by their alma mater to transition to coeducation, and for women interested in enrolling in a college for women.

Thesis (Masters) -- Simmons College, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (l. 71-74)

This study presents a theory supporting single-gender, public institutions for women based on constitutional and legal history, educational theory, and feminist theory. Evidence from these areas suggest that single-gender, public institutions can be legally reviewed as constitutionally sound; that women can positively affect their situation in public life by learning the tools necessary to succeed in an educational environment without the added competition of men; and that once women experience leadership positions in college, they will understand how to gain access to channels of power. In order to reach the masses of women, this form of education must be offered as a choice in the public system of higher education so that all women, regardless of geographic or financial restrictions, can take advantage of a single-gender education. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education