Menlo’s History and “Herstorian” By Pamela Gullard, Editor, Menlo College Magazine Menlo College, established in 1927–when Americans first began buying cars instead of horses–has a long history of educating students to thrive through whatever transitions their era presents, including stunning shifts in technology, global relations, and social attitudes. The 1970s–like the 2020s–brought huge cultural changes. Roles for men and women were re-examined and, at Menlo College, this meant that women were invited to campus as students for the first time. Changing an all-male institution into one that welcomed women brought some soul-searching. In the summer of 1969, Menlo College President Richard O’Brien had appointed a committee to study the transition. For three weeks they debated the merits of coeducation, concluding that “our society has changed to such a degree that separate education for young men and young women now appears to be archaic.” The ensuing debate about accommodations for women may look quaint to us. While discussing the need to hire female faculty, these men wrote that the curriculum would need to include tennis, golf, archery, bowling and ballet. When Dr. Leon Loofbourow, Professor of History and Literature, worried about the “cell-block atmosphere of our dormitories,” a fellow committee member reminded him that “this generation of women would take it; they like austere conditions.” The chapter on the 1970s in my book Through the Gates: Eighty-five Years of Menlo College and its Times, shows how these men grappled with stereotypes. Students, also, reflected on their attitudes, as you can see in the following excerpt. During my research, I cringed at the word “girls.” You may cringe also. I hope that feeling will lead to a celebration of the progress that has been made toward treating everyone with respect. May that progress continue.
1970s: Menlo Finds its Place in the Culture Wars, an excerpt Menlo Goes Coed In the 1970s, new courses, a more global student body, and new places to meet changed the environment of Menlo College, but the biggest change came with the first class of women. For 65 years, the only voices on the Menlo campus had been the deeper tones of men. In the late 1960s, more of those men asked for the broader educational experience of studying alongside women. A committee headed by Provost John D. Russell concluded that adding the intellectual talents of women would . . . “improve the educational experience at Menlo College.”
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