A College of Their Own

The first class of 11 students graduated from the College of Liberal Arts for Women in 1934. A look back at what life was like for these pioneers and the hundreds who followed.

May 30, 2024

Spring/Summer 2024

Group of women walking on an outdoor path towards the camera. It is old, and sepia toned.

In April 1933, Penn’s “Bureau of Publicity” announced plans from University President Thomas S. Gates and the trustees to open a new College of Liberal Arts for Women in July of that year. The college would establish a four-year curriculum in arts and sciences, equal to what was then “offered to men in the College of the University.”

A crew team made up of women on the Schuykill River moored at a dock, with several people standing or crouched behind them. In the background is the Philadephia Museum of Art. in the top right is the underlined number "1935", handwritten and faded.

In 1935, women were allowed to row crew for Penn for the first time. The hundreds of students who went through the College of Liberal Arts for Women created a rich, vibrant culture and a lasting legacy.

The motives behind this weren’t only concerned with equality, however, says Sarah Manekin, G’04, GR’09, a history Ph.D. who published a paper based on her archival research about the creation of the college. Rather, she says, the trustees wanted to be more like Ivies to the north, which were then associated with separate colleges for women. “They were thinking about what it meant to be an elite urban research university,” Manekin says. “And that seemed to be to offer elite education opportunities for women but in separate spheres. So, the rich, wonderful, vibrant life the College for Women students created came about because of market dynamics.”

A group of students working at desks inside a long hall.

Though equalizing education for males and females was a slow progression, the creation of the College of Liberal Arts for Women represented a step forward. The majority of classes for these students took place in Bennett Hall, with Bennett Union, run by an executive committee of students and a student director, on the fourth floor.

Students at the new college attended class mostly in Bennett Hall, which would also house the women’s student union, a soda fountain, a ping pong table, a record player and typewriter, even showers and an ironing board for commuters.

Just a year later, in 1934, the College of Liberal Arts for Women graduated its first class, the 11 students having “satisfied the minimum residence requirements of one year, after transferring from other colleges or other departments of the University.” Nine received a Bachelor of Arts degree, two a Bachelor of Science in biology.

Hundreds more would graduate from the College of Liberal Arts for Women before it was absorbed into what is today Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences 50 years ago.

Editor’s Note: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that the first students at the College for Women resided in Hill House, but the building was not opened until 1960. We regret the error and the piece has been updated to ensure its accuracy.

a group of women sitting at a table at a soda fountain. Behind them, a few others stand at a countertop, as well as a couple of people seated.

two students sittong on a set of stairs. Both are smiling, and one stdent adjusts the hat the other is waering, featuring the Penn shield.

A group of students dressed up as pirates standing in a line, turned to face the camera slightly.

Digital illustration of a strand of ivy, the leaf colors being made up of different shades of red and blue. Its done in a line based, sketchy style.

Penn Back Then

Penn Back Then is an oral history project begun in May 2005 by Penn Arts & Sciences. Alums from all decades can contribute their notable anecdotes and remembrances to this audio scrapbook. To listen to several from College of Liberal Arts for Women graduates, visit www.sas.upenn.edu/cw.