By Lisa Marsh Ryerson President of Wells College
 

I. INTRODUCTION

As Americans, we are participants in the most vibrant economy in all of human history. Our system has generated untold wealth and improved the standard of living for millions of people. Supporting this economy is agreat civilization with a coherent philosophy and culture. Indeed, successful economies have never been possible without greatcivilizationswhich provide meaning and vision.

For this reason, I believe we must view American higher education as one ofour most precious and vital resources. In less than 200 years, this systemhas expanded from a handful of institutions clustered in the Northeast to2,200 four-year colleges that enroll nearly 9 million undergraduates. Sincethe 1950s, it has expanded from a $7 billion to a $200 billion industry. These institutions provide the basis for our civilization throughteaching and research. They are respected throughout the world.

I attribute the phenomenal success of American higher education to its great diversity. Within it, we have a public and private sector. We have research universities devoted to the production of knowledge. We havetechnically oriented colleges. We have graduate and professional institutions that prepare students for every profession imaginable. Wehave liberal arts colleges devoted to the development of abstract thought and humane values. All these institutions have unique missions that contributeto both commerce and culture.

In this system, any qualified and motivated student can find an environmentthat will provide just the right combination of challenge and support sheneeds to excel and a curriculum that matches her interests, no matter howesoteric.

I am proud to be the president of a very special kind of college in the landscape of higher education. Wells is one of the oldest women'scolleges in the United States - one among 78 remaining that are thriving and servinga very important function. And I am thrilled you invited me today to speakabout my favorite subject: the unique history of women's colleges and theircontinuing role in society.

II. THE HISTORY OF WOMEN'S EDUCATION

In the social, economic, and cultural turmoil which characterized Americaat the end of the 18th century, the education of women emerged as a seriousissue. Unfortunately, even in that egalitarian era, the advancement of women was not a popular idea.

Throughout the 19th century, theories were put forth warning of the dangers of educating women. In the book Sex in Education, published in 1873, retired Harvard Professor of Medicine Dr. Edward Clarke acknowledges begrudgingly that women do indeed have the capacity to study and learn. However, he warns, if they embark on these pursuits with the same vigor as boys, girls will strain their "vital organs." According to Dr. Clarke, young women must obey the "law of periodicity" and rest both mentally andphysically every fourth week. Ignoring these rules will result in the deterioration of their sexual organs, uterine disease, hysteria, andvery possibly insanity. While Dr. Clarke's findings did generate debate andrefutations, it is important to note that his book was popular enough - even at that relatively late date - to be reprinted 12 times within a yearof its publication.

Despite the opposition, different types of institutions emerged for the education of women during that era which provided a foundation foreducational diversity. From 1775 to 1870, academies and seminaries were theprimary institutions educating women. They offered secondary education aswell as some college-level training, although they seldom granted bachelor's degrees. Normal schools were created for the education ofteachers - the majority of whom were women.

Women's colleges as we know them today did not develop a clear identity inthis landscape until about 1850. The Abolitionist Movement contributed tothe women's college movement in a very significant way. Women both championed the abolitionist cause and identified with its goals ofemancipation for a disenfranchised group. Women's colleges were an important response to the demands that women began to make for greaterparticipation in society.

A number of different schools have legitimate claims on the title of firstwomen's college, based on slightly varying definitions. Others, while notactual colleges, were such early pioneers they deserve our recognition. TheWomen's College Coalition names three very early and important schools inits literature: Salem Academy in North Carolina, founded in 1772; WesleyanCollege in Georgia chartered in 1836 which granted degrees to women; and Mount Holyoke College founded in 1837.

Wells Professor of Sociology Leslie Miller-Bernal has researched the presence of a rigorous curriculum at early women's colleges. In herestimation, Mary Sharp College in Winchester, Tennessee, which opened in 1853 with a curriculum grounded in Latin, Greek, and higher mathematics, isa contender for the first, true women's college. She also names Elmira College which opened in 1855 and Vassar which opened in 1865 asexemplary women's colleges offering a challenging curriculum at an early date.

Full-fledged women's colleges offered students a level of higher educationwhich had previously been reserved for men. Nearly all women's colleges offered a liberal arts curriculum - a tradition that continues today.They were for many years the only institutions where women could studyscience, mathematics, law, and philosophy. And virtually all women scientists inthe 19th and early 20th centuries received their training at women'scolleges.

Wells and other women's colleges have contributed significantly to a greatawakening that has resulted in increased social equality and progress.

III. WELLS COLLEGE AND CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Wells became a college in 1870. Like other institutions I have mentioned,it first opened as a seminary in 1866. And also like many of her sister institutions, my college was founded by a man.

Henry Wells was a noted and beloved figure in 19th century America. His brilliance as an entrepreneur can still be seen today in the flourishingorganizations he built: The American Express Company and the Wells Fargo Bank.

Henry received much assistance from another noted figure in history: EzraCornell of Ithaca. A self-taught inventor, Ezra became the largest stockholder in The Western Union Telegraph Company. The two men workedin partnership to build the first commercial telegraph line.

Henry Wells and Ezra Cornell generated vast fortunes, built enduring organizations, and created jobs and wealth for others. Their workfuelled the American economy and shaped society and culture.

They also understood the importance of higher education in this emerging society and dreamed of creating great institutions that would rivalthose found in Europe. They shared an expansive vision that America could be hometo different kinds of institutions all serving the needs of diverse people.The mutual support they offered each other while building institutions withvery different missions is one of the great and defining success stories ofhigher education.

Henry's dream was to establish a college that would provide women with thesame academic opportunities as men. His ideas were a mixture of progressivethought and more conservative views on the role of women. Wells is a non-denominational college today. But the founder intended theinstitutionto be grounded in the Presbyterian faith. He wanted women to have access toeducation of the highest quality as well as rigorous physical education. But he believed women's knowledge and physical health should be applied tothe successful bearing and rearing of children.

While very much a product of his era, Henry believed in and supported women. His attitude is clearly stated in this frequently quoted passage from one of his addresses: "It is commonly said that it is not theprovince of woman to extend her researches to those finer and more beautiful linesof science; that woman's mind is not capable of attaining to a higher orderof discipline. Not acknowledging this, let me say, Give her the opportunity!"

Perhaps realizing the magnitude of the challenges facing his business partner in Aurora, Ezra offered assistance. In 1866, Henry was lookingfor bricks to build his college. So he wrote to his business partner. Ezra's response contains a potentially history-changing proposition. Hesuggested, "Instead of building a Female Seminary at Aurora, which might soondwindle and droop when your fostering hand was withdrawn by death; build at Ithaca'The Wells Female Department of Cornell University' and thus aid us to engraft female education upon what I trust will become our highesteducational institution in America."

Of course, Henry chose to keep his college separate. While it has remainedsmall in size compared to Cornell University, we know Wells College blossomed. And Ezra Cornell - despite the rejection of his initial offer- went on to play an instrumental role in ensuring Wells College'slongevity. He campaigned vigorously for the creation of an endowment for Wells, pledging his own funds.

Ezra's vision in founding Cornell University was to create "an institutionwhere any person can find instruction in any study." This is truly a democratic and expansive vision. And the university we know today -recognized across the globe for its excellence - is a fulfillment of thatvision.

Thanks to their efforts, our region is home to one of the nation's most distinguished liberal arts college for women as well as one of the greatIvy League universities. These institutions, along with Ithaca College andothers in the area - each with different missions - offer a tremendous diversity of options to students.

While they are distinctly different institutions, Wells and Cornell shareclose connections today. Through a special agreement, students attending the two institutions can cross-register for classes. This partnership enables them to take advantage of the liberal arts environment as wellas the resources of a leading research university. In the spirit of Wells Fargo, a regularly scheduled shuttle bus transports the students betweenthe two campuses. Additionally, Wells has special affiliations with Cornell's engineering and veterinary schools. And so now the names havechanged from Henry and Ezra to Lisa and Hunter. But the spirit of the original partnership remains strong.

It is precisely this kind of collaboration among institutions that I believe must take place now and in the years ahead if our educationalsystem is to remain the best in the world.

IV. WOMEN'S EDUCATION AND THE FUTURE

Because coed higher education is still not fully satisfying the needs of women, and because our society is more dependent than ever before upon thetalents of women - women's colleges are a necessary part of educational diversity today. We must not assume co-education is gender-equaleducation simply because it is the current popular choice.

A large body of research indicates that single-sex education is beneficialto both sexes, but especially for women. These green spaces stand as alternatives as well as fertile ground challenging us to reconsiderconstantly our views about gender and education. They are preparing a disproportionate number of women leaders.

The evidence we have is compelling. Studies have found that by attending women's colleges today women:

•  Participate more fully in and out of class.
•  Report greater satisfaction than their coed counterparts with their college experience in almost all measures - academically, developmentally, and personally.
•  Develop measurably higher levels of self-esteem than other achieving women in coeducational institutions. After two years in coeducational institutions, women have been shown to have lower levels of self-esteem than when they entered college.
•  Score higher on standardized achievement tests.
•  Choose traditionally male disciplines, like the sciences, as their academic majors, in greater numbers.
•  Are more likely to graduate.
•  Are more successful in careers; that is, they tend to hold higher positions, indicate they are happier, and earn more money.
•  Tend to be more involved in philanthropic activities after college.

Whether it is the student body president, editor of the campus newspaper,or captain of a sports team, every leadership position at a women's collegeis held by a woman. Because of their relatively small size, women's colleges offer abundant opportunities for their students to holdleadership positions.

If we are to meet fully the educational needs of women, I believe wemust continue to offer and expand single-sex learning options in both theprivate and public sectors of education. I am a firm believer in the benefits of single-sex education. It is an experience every woman should have at some stage in her life.

V. THE LIBERAL ARTS

Wells' enduring mission as a liberal arts college is of equal importance toits role as an educator of women. In "The Aims of Education," Alfred NorthWhitehead wrote:

"The only use of knowledge of the past is to equip us for the present. No more deadly harm can be done to young minds than by depreciation of the present. The present contains all that there is. It is holy ground; for it is the past, and it is the future. At the same time it must be observed that an age is no less past if it existed two hundred years ago than if it existed two thousand years ago. Do not be deceived by the pedantry of dates. The ages of Shakespeare and Moliere are no less past than are the ages of Sophocles and of Virgil. The communion of saints is a great and inspiring assemblage, but it has only one possible hall of meeting, and that is the present."

Without grasping the principles of morality, ethics, reason, and compassionfound so abundantly in the works studied during the course of a liberal arts education, we have little chance of contributing to a truecivilization. Our journeys to this meeting-place enable us to live rich andrewarding lives in the present. Ironically, in this era when these ideasare so urgently needed many members of our society distrust and disregardliberal education.

In a lecture on American higher education delivered in 1998, Duke University President Nannerl Keohane succinctly described the publicperception of liberal studies today. She said, "The traditional liberal arts education is often regarded as unworldly and unlikely to prepare anybody to do anything that earns a salary. This view is exacerbated bythe public perception that scholars of history, literature and the arts have become dabblers in arcane, politically radical nihilism. This perceptionis exaggerated and unfair, but in a world of deconstruction andpost-everything, it is hard to explain to ordinary folks what the intellectual excitement is all about."

Keohane raises two pivotal issues about the purpose of liberal education:

 First, careerism and liberal studies are opposed. One strain of common wisdom tells us that a student compelled to choose a course of study that will result in a good income should avoid, or breeze quickly through by any means necessary, liberal studies. However, the ability to communicate effectively, to understand diverse cultures, to think across disciplines, and to apply abstract theory for effective practice - skills gained from the liberal arts - are necessary tools in today's workplace as well as in life.

 

Second, our curriculum is politically driven and dominated by radical scholarship. This is far from the truth. A solid liberal arts curriculum attempts to include the best that has been thought and said throughout the ages, regardless of ideology. Scholars in our colleges and universities, like the generations before them, are testing the ideas of the past and contributing new knowledge, which, in turn, is also being tested through vigorous debate. The need for free inquiry and exploration - wherever it might lead - is an essential element in any learning community.

Far from being the recent invention of radical scholars, we know the greattradition of the liberal arts can be traced at least as far back as Greekand Roman civilization.

In ancient Rome, Cicero wrote that education must have a purpose. He alsobelieved the best education should be used for the preparation of leaders.And he wrote that the ability to speak well and persuade others was of thegreatest importance in professional and public life. In order to be an effective speaker, the orator needed to have an understanding of manysubjects. The subjects he believed should be studied were grammar (including literature), rhetoric, logic, geometry, astronomy, music,physics, history, civil law, and philosophy.

It is important to note that Cicero lists specific knowledge areas that, when mastered, make a well-rounded individual. This is what we think of asa curriculum. The liberal arts - based on classical learning - were developed into a structured curriculum in medieval universities.Originally, the seven liberal arts were grammar, rhetoric, and logic (theTrivium) and arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music (the Quadrivium).While disciplines have expanded and changed, the modern curriculum and campus is built on this solid foundation.

I use the example of Cicero because - if we wish to identify a political purpose for liberal education - it has been and remains the training of leaders. And the notion that a liberal arts curriculum is the best education for leaders in a wide variety of fields is a time-testedtruth.

But the role of the liberal arts in leadership is just as relevant in modern democracies as it was in ancient Rome - perhaps more so - because inour complex globalized society, culture, and economy we need many more leaders from diverse backgrounds than we did in eras when theocracy and aristocracy prevailed.

Before concluding, I want to address two pressing concerns in society nowand in the years ahead. In order to face these challenges, we need studentswith a solid education in the liberal arts.

The first is the incredible rise of information technology. The inflated rhetoric that has attached itself to this subject makes it difficult topresent observations without conjuring apocalyptic or utopian visions. ButI will try to keep my views as straightforward as possible:

 … Computers and information technology have an important place in the liberal arts classroom. Information technology is a part of our lives and will remain so in the future. We must identify and nurture liberally educated leaders in a wide variety of pursuits who will work collectively to ensure that this state of constant revolution serves the common good. Only those who understand the technological revolutions of the past - such as the emergence of printing - can fully comprehend and navigate these changes. Moral and ethical decisions must be made with great thought and care.

 

 … The Internet provides democratic access to a dizzying - sometimes overwhelming - mass of information and ideas. This material is often contradictory and varies greatly in terms of quality. There is and will be an increasing need for individuals with keen critical thinking and analytical skills to interpret this information for organizations and communities. Indeed, all of us must apply sound judgement if we are to benefit from these vast resources. The alternative is manipulation by unscrupulous forces, paralysis, and confusion.

 First, if there is a flaw in traditional approaches to teaching the liberal arts, it is the historical reluctance we find in the curriculum to include and make connections to traditions born outside Europe and the Mediterranean region. We must also be open to hearing the voices of those who have been marginalized within our tradition. The cultural traditions of Africa, Asia, and Native Americans - just to name a few - will strengthen our society and enrich our lives if they are included in the curriculum. Certainly this inclusive approach more accurately reflects the multi-cultural, global nature of the contemporary world we live in. This is a daunting, often controversial, but necessary task. And I want to praise educators in a variety of settings who are working to improve the curriculum.

 

 This said, I have no doubt that an understanding of Western civilization is essential for those who live in a multi-cultural society. As we move forward recognizing the wonders of our difference - through race, ethnicity, gender, and social class - it is the knowledge of our shared humanity that will form the basis of a new and brilliant civilization.

"I once asked Prince Krapotkin, the Russian philosopher, how he endured his long years in prison, deprived of books, pen, ink, and paper. 'Ah,' he said, 'I thought out many questions in which I had a deep interest. In the pursuit of an idea I took no note of time. When tired of solving knotty problems I recited all the beautiful passages in prose or verse I have ever learned. I became acquainted with myself and my own resources. I had a world of my own, a vast empire, that no Russian jailer or Czar could invade.' Such is the value of liberal thought and broad culture when shut off from all human companionship, bringing comfort and sunshine within even the four walls of a prison cell."

In the darkest hours of the eternal present, the education we have been fortunate to receive provides solace and strength against adversity. Italso opens our eyes to the great beauty that everywhere surrounds us and enables us to experience wonder that we would not otherwise know. These arethe gifts our teachers gave us. And we, in turn, must pass them on throughour support of the unique missions of American colleges and universities.

.- Delivered January 11, 2000, Kendal at Ithaca