Presence of women transformed the classroom, campus
Jessica Dalsing
News writer
When the first freshman class containing women arrived on campus in 1972, Notre Dame's history changed forever.
"The University may need some structural modifications and personnel additions to make it work smoothly, but fundamentally the healthy integration of women into Notre Dame depends on attitudinal adjustments," then-president Father Theodore Hesburgh wrote in a 1972 edition of the "Notre Dame Report."
The presence of 325 women on campus posed a challenge to students and administration alike. Though the University established an advisory committee for co-education to deal with the changes that might be required, there were few noticeable changes to curriculum or tradition. Not until the number of women dramatically increased in the years after 1972 did significant changes occur.
Many of the changes made in the early years were subtle. Anne Therese Palmer, one of the first female students, said, "For the first few years professors had to change their teaching style and anecdotes used in lectures."
Most of the classes and courses remained the same but actions within them had to be altered with the entrance of women. Bradley Marcotte, a member of the last all-male freshman class, remembered one such activity that ceased with the advent of women on campus.
All freshmen are required to pass a swimming test in order to pass physical education and get a diploma. "To top it off, I was informed that we would be taking our swim test in the buff!" Marcotte said. "Yes, buck naked!" Obviously, that tradition changed when women arrived on campus in 1972.
No long-term strategic plan was made for hiring female faculty. College of Arts and Letters Dean Ava Preacher, chairman of the Women of Notre Dame Project, noted that one of the early alumnae told her that she "had only one woman teacher in her whole career at Notre Dame."
It seems that though Notre Dame has made a concerted effort to hire female faculty in recent years, but few have reached seniority.
"Female faculty members have been making huge strides," Assistant Director of Gender Studies Sophie White said, "but not so many women have made it to senior positions."
Preacher also agrees with White's sentiments. "Women faculty members tend to go into administration instead of to senior teaching positions," she said.
Despite initial resistence to their presence on campus, women became active in working for their own changes on campus. Most notably, a group of seven women faculty members launched the Gender Studies department.
The Gender Studies department began with seven courses offered per semester and has now grown to more than 40 courses each semester. There is still not a major given in Gender Studies, but a second major is available. The number of students interested in women's issues and male/ female relationships has also grown significantly. There were four students that graduated with minors in Gender Studies in its first year and last year there were 58.
White sees a "willingness and desire to discuss male-female relations as they pertain to current issues in The Observer," with her students.
Tremendous strides have been made in all areas of the campus in the last 30 years, but as a letter sent to female alumni noted, "Women play a key role at Notre Dame as intellectual and campus leaders as well as in their capacity as teachers and students, but we still have much to do."
All News Stories for Friday, September 27, 2002
