WOMEN'S COLLEGES The history of the women's college in America may be said to fall into three periods, each of the first two covering 4o years, the third from 1915 on. The first period, roughly estimated from 1835 to 1875, was the age of beginnings. The institutions of this period were almost without exception seminaries; among them, Wheaton at Norton, Mass., opened in 1835, and Mount Holyoke at South Hadley, in 1837. Both were founded as permanent institutions for women. Mount Holyoke's first curriculum was evidence of Mary Lyon's intention that although not called a college, it should furnish to women as good educational opportun ities as the colleges for men then offered. Several other women's colleges of to-day were established as seminaries during this period, Wells, Lake Erie, the Western, Mills, Rockford, Mil waukee-Downer. The South shared in this interest, a development cut short by the Civil War. Hollins college in Virginia, a co-educa tional seminary, in 1852 dropped the course for boys, thus becom ing the first chartered institution for girls in the State.
Among the earliest institutions authorized to grant degrees to women were the Wesleyan Female college at Macon, Ga., founded in the '3os, and Elmira college in Elmira, N.Y., opened in 1855. The first women's college having an endowment and curriculum sufficient, from the point of view of the times, to realize this ideal, was Vassar college, incorporated in 1861 and opened in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1865.
The Second Period.—The period 1875 to 1915 was one of expansion, and was marked by an advance in the education of women, such as the world had net'er before seen. Three types of institution were developed : the separate college for women; the woman's college affiliated with the university; co-education. Coincident with the beginning of this period came the opening of two important colleges, both in Massachusetts : Smith at Northampton, established by Sophia Smith ; Wellesley at Welles ley, founded by Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Durant in memory of their only son. Ten years later Bryn Mawr college, founded by Joseph W. Taylor, was opened at Bryn Mawr, Pa. The same year the Woman's College of Baltimore City was incorporated, under the auspices of the Methodist Church, with Dr. Goucher, the first president, after whom it was subsequently named, as the chief factor. In 1888 Mount Holyoke obtained its college charter, five years later withdrawing the seminary course.
During this period several of the earlier seminaries became colleges : Rockford in Illinois, Lake Erie and the Western in Ohio, Milwaukee-Downer in Wisconsin, Mills in California, the Woman's College of Pennsylvania at Pittsburgh. Wells college in Aurora, N.Y., secured its college charter in 1870 after two years as
a seminary. The leading Southern colleges for women date from this period : Agnes Scott college at Decatur, Ga. (1889), Randolph-Macon College for Women at Lynchburg, Va. (1893) and Sweet Briar at Sweet Briar, Va. (1906).
An outstanding illustration of another type of college for women is Simmons college in Boston, established by the will of John Simmons "as an institution in which might be given instruc tion in such branches of art, science and industry as would best enable women to earn an independent livelihood," and granted a charter in 1899. Somewhat like Simmons college are Skidmore at Saratoga Springs 0910, and Russell Sage at Troy, N.Y. (1916).
The Connecticut College for Women, at New London, Conn., opened in 1915, "owes its foundation to the wish and purpose of people of Connecticut to provide within the State adequate facilities for the higher education of women," the movement for its establishment being begun by the College Club of Hartford.
Holding a place midway between the college on a separate foundation and co-education is the women's college affiliated with the university. The first one of this type was the H. Sophie New comb Memorial, opened at Tulane university in New Orleans in 1887. It was followed in 1888 by the Women's college at Western Reserve university, Cleveland, the outgrowth of an informal system of co-education, dating from 1872; Barnard at Columbia in 1889, ten years after President Barnard had urged co-education at Columbia college ; the Women's college of Brown university, authorized in 1892 to confer the Brown degree and made a depart ment of the university in 1897. Radcliffe college, incorporated in 1894 and authorized to confer the bachelor's and master's degrees and Ph.D. subject to the approval of the president and fellows of Harvard college, dates from the organization in 1879 of the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women "for the purpose of providing systematic instruction for women by professors and other instructors in Harvard university." Since the beginning of the present century, other "affiliated colleges" have been established, such as the William Smith college in Geneva, N.Y., opened as "co-ordinate" with Hobart college, in 1908; and in 191o, Jackson college, taking the place of entire co-education at Tufts college, Mass. By the so-called "segregation policy," started at the University of Chicago in 1902, and meaning separate instruction for women during the first two years of their undergraduate course, the university provision for women comes partially under the head of the affiliated college.