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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.”
They had no trouble finding capable students for the planned women/men ratio of two-to-three. Liberal arts courses were added, Howard Hall was transformed into a women’s residence, and “Miss Rita M. Gramann,” formerly the dean of women at a small college in Missouri, was hired as the first Dean of Women.
Men on campus welcomed this change, but were not always exactly sure how to handle it. In the student newspaper, one writer begins, “Tuesday afternoon (October 22, 1970) was a bit too early to find out any definite policy changes which will take effect next year when women enter Menlo—won’t it seem awkward, calling them women instead of girls.”
He and other men on campus worked on their progressive attitudes as they anticipated the arrival of the first class of women. One editorialist in the student newspaper pointed out that the administration should not impose paternalistic social rules on the new students. He wrote that Menlo College was right to make rules for the safety of women and so “we all should not expect that totally unrestricted dorm hours will be enacted,” but, he added, “let’s give the girls the same chances we have, to manage our own hours and lives.”
As you can see in this issue of the magazine, the first women of the College managed their lives just fine. If you would like to learn more about the ways women and men experienced Menlo through the years, you may buy a copy of Through the Gates at the Menlo College Campus Store.
