In 1985, W&L began admitting female students for the first time in its history. From alumni to students, the W&L community was extremely divided about the decision both strongly in favor or fiercely opposed. While W&L unsuccessfully considered going coed previously, this exhibit highlights the University’s official coeducation process from 1980-1990. This exhibit is broken down into three subdivisions based on different time periods in the coeducation process.
Before diving into W&L’s specific process, there is a background page about coeducation in Virginia specifically looking at two peer academic institutions, the University of Virginia and Virginia Military Institute. Then the exhibit focuses on W&L’s pre-decision period which spans from 1980 to 1985. The Decision period itself which was between July 1984 to September 1985 which includes media coverage about what students were thinking on campus when women first arrived. Finally, the aftermath section focuses on material created after 1989, the year the first coeducational class graduated. We hope that viewers can better understand the climate both within the campus and alumni communities and understand how this decision impacted W&L's institutional growth.