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First Female University Teachers
In 1783, the first female university teachers were appointed at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Two sisters, Elizabeth Callister Peale and Sarah Callister, were hired by the university to teaching painting and drawing. This would pave the way for future women who wanted to be educators.
Source: First Women Educators (2017) -
Young Ladies Academy of Philadelphia
The first government recognized institution for women’s higher education. The school was founded in 1787 and was chartered in 1792. It taught young women diverse curriculum, such as English, science, arithmetic, history, and geography. No other girls school was granted charter until 1829, but this academy “served as a precursor to hundreds of academies established”.
Source: Wikimedia Foundation (2021) -
Oberlin College
This college was founded in 1833 and from the beginning was coeducational. However, it wasn't until 1837 that they allowed women to be admitted into baccalaureate programs. This college was one of the first colleges to allow women to get their bachelors degree. This gave women a chance to obtain a higher education and opened the door for more opportunities in the education system.
Source: Oberlin College and Conservatory -
Morrill Act
This act was enacted in 1862 and funded the establishment of public colleges by offering land grants to states to help them develop public colleges. The colleges created accepted women from the start, with an acceptance rate of 71 percent. They found that it was more cost-effective to have a co-ed school than a sex-segregated one so women were allowed to attend mostly to fill the teaching roles.
Source: (Drexler, 2021) -
National Association of University Women
Founded in 1923 by Oberlin College graduate, Mary Church Terrell, this college is comprised of African American college and university women graduates. The college was created to “promote constructive work in education, civil activities, and human relations and to study educational conditions with emphasis on problems affecting women” (NAUW, 2022).It encouraged high educational standards among women.
Source: National Association of University Women Records