Forty Years: The History of Women at Bowdoin

A Class Project of GWS 280 - Fall 2011

  • Prehistory
  • Process
  • Curriculum
  • Athletics
  • Extracurriculars
  • Social Life & Fraternities
  • Women’s Resource Center
  • Timeline

Bowdoin Wives Association

Although women were not admitted to Bowdoin until 1971, their presence on campus began much earlier. Wives of men at the College started an organization called the Bowdoin Wives Association. They had an office on the second floor of Moulton Union and were there from ten to noon every weekday. People were encouraged to stop by if they needed a babysitter or a job, someone to talk to, or simply to hear the latest gossip. They created a newsletter for the group in 1947 called “Chit-Chat.” Their motto for the first few years was “Happy Wives Mean Contended Husbands.” This soon changed to be “Happy WIVES mean a better Bowdoin.”

The newsletter (Document SC, 6) provided a way for the women to hear the latest news in their group and also in the larger college community. The association put on activities for Bowdoin men, including a big dance in Moulton Union. They offered resources to women in the club and community as displayed in the “opportunity corner.” These included student babysitters and laundry services at Stowe Inn. The newsletter also included recipes and announced new members and the births of children. This issue offered cheap and easy recipes that the women could make for their husbands and children. The wives of the men at the College found and created their own little niche. These newsletters provide insight into the interests and activities of women at Bowdoin before coeducation.

Bowdoin Wives Association "Chit-Chat"  SC 6 - page 1
Bowdoin Wives Association "Chit-Chat" SC 6 - page 1
Bowdoin Wives Association "Chit-Chat"  SC 6 - page 2
Bowdoin Wives Association "Chit-Chat" SC 6 - page 2
Bowdoin Wives Association "Chit-Chat"  SC 6 - page 3
Bowdoin Wives Association "Chit-Chat" SC 6 - page 3
Bowdoin Wives Association "Chit-Chat"  SC 6 - page 4
Bowdoin Wives Association "Chit-Chat" SC 6 - page 4

Filed Under: Documents, Prehistory Tagged With: 1947, Bowdoin Wives Association, Chit-Chat, Moulton Union, Newsletter, SC6

Letter from Associate Dean at Wheaton (Evelyn Banning) to Dean of Admissions at Bowdoin (Richard Moll)

This letter (Document SB, 7) regarding the 10-College Exchange program was sent shortly after discussion of the program began in October of 1968. In the beginning stages, this program would coordinate the exchange of students between ten private Northeast colleges. Bowdoin was strongly interested in this program because it “would lead to other things”, as stated in the notes from the Ten College Exchange Meeting at North Hampton on January 8, 1969. These “other things” included the discussion of co-education, as these exchange students would be the first female Bowdoin students. This program mediated official coeducation. It was not long after that Trinity and Wellesley Colleges requested membership, thus changing the name of the program to the “Twelve College Exchange.”

As suggested by this letter, female student interest in Bowdoin was immediate. Bowdoin’s Dean of Admissions, Richard Moll, was forced to postpone the discussion of application procedures with Evelyn Banning because the program had not yet been formally approved. The Wheaton female students mentioned in this document represent a larger group of women who were excited about the prospect of receiving a Bowdoin education.

It was not until the end of January 1969 that the college information and relevant forms were to potential applicants. In 1970, the first 12 women were invited to study at Bowdoin as a part of the Twelve College Exchange. This opened the door to countless discussions of coeducation during the following years and finally to the admission of a full class of female students in the fall of 1971.

Letter from Associate Dean at Wheaton (Evelyn Banning) to Dean of Admissions at Bowdoin (Richard Moll)
SB7

Filed Under: Documents, Prehistory Tagged With: 1968, Dick Moll, Evelyn Banning, Letter, Richard Moll, SB7

The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges)

The Student Life Committee was a board of Bowdoin faculty members who observed campus life and recommended changes they believed would improve the student culture and environment. The annual recommendations would be drafted into The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee. The report from 1968 focuses on the freshman year and the admission of women. An interesting option mentioned in the report was the establishment of a “co-ordinate college.” This excerpt omits pages 2-13 of the report in order to focus on page 14, where idea of a coordinate college is first introduced (Document SB, 8).

The committee reported three realistic avenues for admitting women to Bowdoin: adding women undergraduates to the current student body, replacing some male undergraduates with female undergraduates, or establishing a co-ordinate college for women. The section of concern on pages 19-21 introduces the admission of women through a coordinate college. Among the advantages to a coordinate women’s college was the “offering [of] unique opportunities” because there were few four-year colleges for women in Northern New England at that time. A separate institution for women would also allow Bowdoin to preserve traditions that may have been compromised by the campus’ integration.

The report also presents a series of questions about the degree to which the colleges should be separate. Would men and women share all facilities? How would both sexes be integrated in the classroom? Perhaps most importantly, how would the construction of another college campus be funded? Wealthier institutions were better suited for coordinate colleges they conclude. Finances were a significant part of Bowdoin’s decision to admit women directly to the existing campus.

The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-1
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-1
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-2
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-2

 

The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-3
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-3
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-4
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-4
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-5
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-5
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-6
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-6
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-7
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-7
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-8
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-8
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-9
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-9
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-10
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-10
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-11
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-11
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-12
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-12
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-13
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-13
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-14
The Annual Report of the Student Life Committee 1968 (excerpt: coordinate colleges) - sb-8-page-14

SB 8

Filed Under: Documents, Prehistory Tagged With: 1968, SB8, Student Life Committee

Exchange Students at Bowdoin for Fall Semester 1969-1970

In the academic year of 1969-1970, Bowdoin College opened its doors to a program called the Twelve College Exchange.  Students from Bowdoin as well as Smith, Amherst, Connecticut College, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Trinity, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Wheaton and Williams had the option to spend a semester or year at another institution within these twelve.  The Exchange at Bowdoin was meant to introduce coeducation in an effort to see if men and women could co-exist on this small campus.

The first year Bowdoin participated, twelve female students chose to study at Bowdoin for either one or two semesters (Document GB, 9).  A year later, in the fall of 1971, Bowdoin began to admit women into all classes.  A grand total of 147 women came to the Bowdoin campus in order to take advantage of this newly coeducational institution.   64 women were admitted as first-years, expected to graduate in 1975, 29 were junior year transfers that would graduate in 1972, 39 were a part of the Twelve College Exchange and 15 were Special Students according to the November 1971 Alumni Magazine.

GB9 -  Exchange Students at Bowdoin for Fall Semester 1969-1970
GB9 - Exchange Students at Bowdoin for Fall Semester 1969-1970

Filed Under: Documents, Prehistory Tagged With: Amherst, Connecticut College, Dartmouth, GB9, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Trinity, Twelve College Exchange, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Wheaton, Williams

Report To the President and Trustees and to the Overseers of Bowdoin College (The Pierce Report)

Pierce Report (PDF)
Pierce Report (PDF)

This document (Document SB, 10) is a report of the Study Committee on Underclass Campus Environment, presented in May of 1969. The committee consisted of members of the governing boards, faculty, alums and undergraduates. The document recommends the remodeling of fraternities, the growth of Bowdoin, and the admission of women undergraduates. Pages 26-50 of The Pierce Report are devoted to the positives of admitting women. The Committee saw no positive value in continuing the tradition of an entirely male campus.

The Pierce Report is thought to be the document or even the event that seriously began Bowdoin’s shift towards coeducation. It deems the admission of women “one of the most pressing needs of the College” for a number of reasons. Many comparable New England colleges were going coed at the time and the authors noted that “almost all of [its’] principal competitors will have admitted women” within five years. They feared that Bowdoin’s “ability to continue to attract male students of high quality” would be affected because male students would be more likely to apply to the more progressive coed colleges. The Pierce Report authors suggest that women would improve student-faculty relationships because of women’s “generally superior ability to handle social situations.” Whether or not this was true, the Pierce Report received a great deal of support from the campus.

On September 25, 1970, the Governing Board voted to implement the Pierce Report. This decision was a catalyst for many changes across the campus. Female dorms were created and along with them, the first women’s restrooms. Bowdoin has become what it is today in part because of The Pierce Report.

Report To the President and Trustees and to the Overseers of Bowdoin College (The Pierce Report) (sb-10) PDF

SB 10

Pierce Report (PDF)
Pierce Report (PDF)

Filed Under: Documents, Prehistory Tagged With: 1969, Overseers, President, SB10, Study Committee on Underclass Campus Environment, The Pierce Report, Trustees

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