Outrageous Ambitions: How a One-Room Schoolhouse Became a Research University
Women at Duke
Although Trinity College didn’t formally admit women until 1892, they have been part of teaching and learning from the earliest days of the school. Duke has a proud history of cultivating female leaders, scholars, and teachers.
Irene Leach Craven
Irene Leach graduated from the Union Institute on the day it opened, making her the first female graduate. She worked as a tutor and instructor at the Union Institute in the late 1830s and early 1840s. In 1844, she married Braxton Craven, the first president of Normal and Trinity Colleges. She was a tireless supporter of the school and its students. This tintype was carried by Braxton Craven throughout his life.
From the Craven-Pegram Family Papers collection at the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Mary Giles
In 1878—years before women were admitted—sisters Mary (pictured), Theresa, and Persis Giles became the first female graduates of Trinity College. They took the same classes as Trinity College men, but did so through after hours faculty tutoring. The Giles sisters were pioneers of women’s education.
Giles Dormitory, named for the sisters, opened at the Woman’s College in 1927. This letter was written from the women students of Giles to Mary Giles in thanks for her family’s contributions and trail-blazing ways.
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1896 Washington Duke Letter
Washington Duke wrote this letter to President John Kilgo in 1896 expressing his disappointment that women were not considered on equal footing as men, and pledged $100,000 for Trinity if that was rectified. Almost immediately, the Board implemented a new policy to admit women as full students (rather than just “day students”) and a women’s dormitory was built.
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Rose Davis, PhD
In 1928, Duke started a Ph.D. program in its graduate school. In 1929, Rose Davis graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry, the first female graduate with that degree from Duke.
In the 1950s, women students produced Design for a Duchess, an unofficial publication that was sent to all incoming female freshmen. It included sections like “Popularity Plus,” as well as “Frowns Unlimited,” which instructed the new students how to behave as ladies.
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Women's Initiative Report
The pressure to present a perfect image to others is a longstanding issue for Duke women. In 2003, President Nan Keohane launched the Women’s Initiative. This page illustrates one of its themes: “effortless perfection.”
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