Last week was the start of a ten month celebration of women at Marquette. Why the particular emphasis on the fair sex? One hundred years ago, Marquette was the first Catholic institution of higher learning to admit women. And it happened because one of the Jesuits was willing to get himself into some hot water...
The university president in 1909, Fr. McCabe, S.J., realized the teachers in Wisconsin's Catholic schools, many of them religious sisters, had very few options when it came to receiving academic training, and as a result, were falling behind their public school counterparts. His solution? Open the doors of the university to women.
His superior, Fr. Meyer, S.J., refused to support Fr. McCabe's decision. McCabe appealed the case to Rome. The final decision - the official approval for women to be admitted - came three years later, just as the first class of women was graduating.
You can go here, then scroll down to "Centennial Celebration of Women at Marquette" for a link to activities, articles and lots of fun photos from the last one hundred years.
No comments:
Post a Comment