Female Education at RPI

Early Years (1824-1942)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (originally known as the Rensselaer School) was founded as an all male institution, much like other universities at the time. General societal practices did not place women in occupations requiring advanced mathematics or sciences, and the initial practices of the institute matched this.

• 1834 - The first effort toward female education at RPI is reported to have occurred in 1834. Amos Eaton, a professor at the time, created a special mathematics course and enrolled 8 women. The women were taught off-campus, at Walnut Grove. The course was a great success and Eaton contacted the Board of Examiners in hopes of making female courses a regular practice as the Rensselaer School. His request was ultimately ignored, and the normal practices of the institute continued.

• 1873 - The first female applicant to the Rensselaer School was Elizabeth R. Buswell in 1873. Elizabeth was met with some opposition and was encouraged to find additional female applicants to join her. It was believed that one female student amongst an otherwise completely male student body would face hardships. Ultimately, she did not move forward with her application to the university.

• 1918 - A vote for female attendance was initiated in 1918 by Alfred Renshaw. The institute was losing faculty and students due to WWI, and Renshaw motioned at a meeting of trustees on December 5th to admit female students. This motion was unanimously struck down. A new motion was then put forward by Henry Hodge to not allow the admission of female students. All but Renshaw accepted this motion.

Early Admission of Women (1942-1960)

• 1942 - The first five female students were admitted to RPI in 1942. These five women were Camilla Cluett, Elizabeth English, Lois Graham, Helen Ketchum, and Mary Ellen Rathbun. These women were admitted in an attempt to offset the loss of male students to WWII efforts. Lois Graham and Mary Ellen Rathbun became the first women to graduate from RPI on April 22, 1945.

• 1943 - The Curtiss Wright Cadettes were a group of women brought to RPI to train as engineering aides for the war effort. They participated in a 44-week program on RPI's campus starting February 12, 1943. The Cadettes participated in on-campus activities such as the cheerleading squad and the drama group. They left the school upon the completion of their 10-month courseload.
• 1944-1960 - The remainder of the 1940s and 1950s saw limited admission of female students.
  
  • There were two female students to receive graduate degrees during this period. Antoinette A. Patti received her Master's Degree in Chemistry (February 1, 1947), while Reva R. G. Servoss became the first woman to receive her Doctorate from RPI (June 11, 1954), also in Chemistry.

Continued Growth (1960-2000)

• 1961 - Nancy Gleason; the first woman to receive a scholarship at RPI

• 1966 - BARH dormitory was opened. It featured a wing dedicated to female students. This was the first on-campus housing for women.

• 1967 - Carolyn Chin was elected president of the Independent Council. This made her the first woman to become president of a major student government body. Additionally, Chin was the first woman inducted into the White Key Society and the first woman inducted into the Phalanx Society (1968).

• 1970 - Roxanne Rhinehart rushed the Rensselaer Society of Engineers (RSE), becoming a recognized brother. This made her the first co-ed member of an RPI fraternity. Four other female students followed her example, rushing Tau Epsilon Phi. These women were unfortunately not nationally recognized.

• 1975 - The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) was formed. This organization still runs today and is a popular resource for female students at RPI.
  • The Women's Athletic Association was also established on campus.
  • The women's basketball club became a varsity team, making basketball the first women's varsity sport at RPI.

• 1976 - The first sorority on campus was a chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma, with the first 14 members initiated on April 10, 1976. Rebecca Kolb Segal was the student who spearheaded the establishment of the chapter. Other sorority chapters including Alpha Gamma Delta (1979), Pi Beta Phi (1984), Alpha Phi (1995), and Sigma Delta (1996) were founded in suit.

• 1978 - Becky Matthews was the first woman to be elected class president.
• 1983 - Mary Garrity was elected the first female Grand Marshall, and Laura Tanski was elected the first female President of the Union.

The growth of the female student body continued steadily into the present day. While women remained a minority, administrative and institutional support grew. This growth and acceptance was further solidified by the appointment of Shirley Ann Jackson as the president of the Institute in 1999.

Present Day

In recent years, typical incoming freshman classes have approximately 30% female students. This is a display of the continuation of male domination in STEM fields, particularly in engineering.
Organizations such as SWE and the Women's Mentoring Program (WMP) provide support for female students as they pursue careers in these fields and navigate RPI.

See Also

• Shirley Ann Jackson
• Society of Women Engineers
• RPI Women's Mentoring Program

References

1. https://archives.rpi.edu/institute-history/timeline-rpi-history
2. https://archives.rpi.edu/blog/womens-history-month-those-who-led-the-way
3. http://www.therensselaerclub.org/about
4. https://archives.rpi.edu/blog/2014/03/26/mary-ellen-rathbun-kolb-oral-history
5. https://digitalassets.archives.rpi.edu/do/27f456f5-12ed-430f-ae2c-fa3c57ca7282
6. https://www.alumni.rpi.edu/s/1225/alumni/index2col.aspx?sid=1225&gid=1&pgid=441