ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – On March 19, 1974, then-S.C. Governor John C. West, who was surrounded by members of the General Assembly and members of the Winthrop Board of Trustees, signed the Winthrop coeducation bill into law. Prior to the law being signed, the General Assembly had allowed limited admission of males, primarily as graduate students, to Winthrop.
Now, 50 years later, Winthrop will celebrate the historic coeducation milestone with a special exhibit and an April 11 reception.
The Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections has created the exhibit “Redefining Winthrop: The South Carolina College for Women Confronts Coeducation” that will be open through Friday, May 3, at the archives’ 700 Cherry Road location. The exhibit highlights historic photographs, newsprints, documents and artifacts that illuminate Winthrop’s 20-year journey toward coeducation.
Alumni, students, faculty, staff and members of the community are invited to a special reception to celebrate the exhibit and this historical moment on Thursday, April 11, at 6 p.m. at the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections. RSVP to the reception by Friday, April 5.
The reception will feature brief remarks from some of Winthrop’s first male graduates.
“Winthrop was an all-women’s college for more than 80 years, so we know that coeducation was a huge turning point in the institution’s history. We recognize Walter Schrader as the first male to earn a Winthrop degree in 1969, and from that historic moment, thousands of men, including myself, have had the opportunity and privilege to earn a Winthrop degree,” said President Edward Serna ’02. “We look forward to celebrating this milestone anniversary at our exhibit with some of the very men who made this moment in history possible.”
For more information, please contact Nicole Chisari, communications coordinator, at 803/323-2403 or chisarin@winthrop.edu.
