Pittsburgh's All Women's College - Chatham College For Women To Go CoEd

Today Chatham University, a small University in Pittsburgh, PA will change forever. Chatham University houses Chatham College for Women - a women's college since 1869.

Are Women's Colleges Still Relevant? I Say Yes.

My name is Leah Spix and I am a graduate of Chatham College for Women, Class of 2012 (also known as Chatham University). Chatham may not be a well known name across the nation but it is the school that housed Rachel Carson, a famed marine biologist and conservationist. It is one of the oldest women's colleges in the nation (over 145 years later). It has seen the likes of other significant women like Muriel Bowser, Democratic nominee for the 2014 mayoral election in Washington, D.C.

The list of pivotal women who have walked the campus of Chatham could go on for days, because truly, each individual who attends the small College for Women will or has already made a difference in this world.

Today, May 1st 2014, at 1:00pm the Chatham University Board of Trustees will vote to start enrolling male undergraduate students as soon as the Fall of 2015. This is not the first time that Chatham College for Women has faced this debate, however. In the 1990's Chatham administrators debated going coeducational but ultimately stayed the coursed as a women's college after much protest from the alum.

University administrators and Trustees have told concerned alumnae and students that only 2% of women graduating high school will consider attending a women's college, but if we are looking at the nation as a whole and the number of women graduating high school - that is actually a large pool to draw from.

Alumnae were up in arms when they were told in February, of this year that the University was considering disbanding the Chatham College for Women. Town-halls were organized, and alumnae begged for more time on the vote. Letters, proposals, and messages were sent to University administrators with facts and numbers against the vote to go coeducational but it appeared that the President and Board would move forward with or without alumnae help.

Some may ask, are women's college even relevant in this day and age? The Board and President Esther Barazzone have even stated - "Chatham was formed when women were not of equal standing to men and did not have as great of an opportunity to attend college". Although I would argue that women are still not fully equal to men even in this day, there is a greater picture.

The experience and opportunities of attending a women's college are significant and pro-founding. It gives young women the opportunity to speak up in class when she may not have had the courage in previous classes with males. The chance to hold a leadership position within school organizations is even greater. The list of benefits of women at a women's college is not small, although some may down play it.

Women like Hilary Clinton and Gloria Steinem attended women's colleges, are they to be discounted?

A women's college transformed me from a young girl to young woman and I am so grateful for that experience. I just can't bare to see the environment change where I grew, and so many others did before me.

This article could be never ending due to Chatham's rich history, but I will stop here.

Thank you to my Chatham sisters who fought the good fight to keep Chatham College - Chatham College for Women. You will forever be my sisters and soul mates in life.