Sunday, September 30th, 2018 marked a major landmark for the College of Charleston: the 100th anniversary of women attending the College. In 1918, thirteen women enrolled in the College of Charleston, being the first ones to ever do so. There had been attempts before, in 1894 and 1903, but it was 1918 that became the year of success. One hundred years seems like it was forever ago, especially now that over sixty-three percent of the College is women, but it really wasn’t as long ago as it seems.
The first woman, Pierrine St. Claire Smith Byrd graduated in 1922 both as the first woman to graduate but also the first to be valedictorian and from the Honors College.
In honor of the Year of Women, College of Charleston has many different events planned to celebrate this monumental year. There’s an ongoing exhibit in the Towell Library second floor on the first fifty years of women at the College (and there’s a lot of interesting information up there, so go check it out!) through February 14th, 2019. The next big upcoming event for this is the #GIRLBOSS Workshop with Rachael Bozsik, the founder of The Brand Girls, which is partnered with the College of Women in Business club. This event is coming up soon and requires registration, so don’t forget to sign up for it! There are so many more things coming this year to celebrate the Year of Women, so make sure to keep your eyes open for more details.
We have accomplished so much in the first one hundred years, so here’s to many more hundreds of years of women!
For more information on the Year of Women, visit yearofwomen.cofc.edu.