June 25, 1918: A Visitor Protests and Preparing for the Marys

At the June 25th meeting of the Board of Visitors, member Major James New Stubbs "offered a resolution to the effect that the Strode Bill was in direct opposition to the 1906 contract by which the Commonwealth of Virginia had taken full responsibility for the College of William and Mary and that therefore the College should refuse to accept women. The 1906 act had specifically stated that William and Mary was to educate men, and admitting women was a violation of that contract. Stubbs argued that the contract would have to be renegotiated before women could be admitted." (Laura Parrish, When Mary Entered with Her Brother William: Women Students at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945, M.A. thesis)




The Visitors voted six to one against Stubbs' resolution. Stubbs had not been in attendance at the Board's February 12th meeting where members Hughes, Richardson, and Hutcheson voted against a motion of support for the Strode Bill, but within the week Stubbs contacted William and Mary President Lyon Gardiner Tyler in protest to no avail.


After voting down Stubbs' motion, the Board of Visitors moved on to other business including allocating funds to prepare a Women's Department and the salary for a woman to oversee the women's dormitory.

The Board of Visitors approves the compensation of the lady in charge of the women's dormitory.

The section of the 1918-1919 budget with expenses for fitting a Women's Department and compensation for a lady in charge of the women's dormitory.









For additional information about the first women students at the College of William and Mary see: When Mary Entered with her Brother William: Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945 by Laura F. Parrish; "The Petticoat Invasion": Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945; The Martha Barksdale Papers; and the Women at the College of William and Mary page on the Special Collections Research Center Wiki.

June 10, 1918: Assembling the Faculty

Routine business at the June 10th meeting of the College of William and Mary's Board of Visitors included the formal election by the BOV of faculty for the 1918-1919 academic year including Miss Caroline F. Tupper as the College's first Dean of Women.

The Boarding House Committee of the BOV made several recommendations at this meeting including hiring a "Lady in charge" in the women's dormitory who would report to the Dean of Women.

Finally, the Finance Committee reported that there was up to $1,000 to spend repairing the dormitory for the women due on campus in September.




For additional information about the first women students at the College of William and Mary see: When Mary Entered with her Brother William: Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945 by Laura F. Parrish; "The Petticoat Invasion": Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945; The Martha Barksdale Papers; and the Women at the College of William and Mary page on the Special Collections Research Center Wiki.

June 4, 1918: President Tyler Makes Plans for the Marys

As the school year was winding down at the College of William and Mary, President Lyon Gardiner Tyler was in the process of adjusting the College for the incoming class of women. On June 4, he wrote a letter to Dr. Walter Montgomery, asking his opinion on a candidate for the new Dean of Womenposition, Eleanor W. Bouldin. In the letter, Tyler asked Montgomery if her "scholarship rank[s] with the professors of the college [because] the Dean of Women is to be given a place in the faculty."

While Bouldin did not become the Dean of Women, this letter shows that President Tyler did not want to offer just any woman the position, but went through the same hiring process that he did for all other positions at the College. He was attempting to find the best candidate for the job to provide the incoming women with the appropriate guidance to help them transition into their new environment.



Letter to Dr. Walter Montgomery from Lyon Gardiner Tyler, dated June 4, 1918, discussing a possible candidate for the new Dean of Women position. Office of the President, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Box 2, Folder "Co-education, 1910-1919." Click on image to enlarge.










This post was composed by Jordan Ecker.

For additional information about the first women students at the College of William and Mary see: When Mary Entered with her Brother William: Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945 by Laura F. Parrish; "The Petticoat Invasion": Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945; The Martha Barksdale Papers; and the Women at the College of William and Mary page on the Special Collections Research Center Wiki.