• 1. The Right Time for Coeducation

1. The Right Time for Coeducation

This story is part of a larger feature on President Rhona Free’s 10 years at USJ. To read more, click here.

Sister Judy Carey, M’72, recalls when the leadership of the University of Saint Joseph — founded by the Sisters of Mercy as a women’s college in 1932 — began talking about admitting undergraduate men.

“It started coming up in the eighties or nineties, and the Sisters of Mercy at the College would say, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ The question came up again over the years, for example when other colleges went coed, but it was never the right time.” Carey, past chair of USJ’s Special Education Program, served on the Board of Trustees in 2015 when it hired Rhona Free as USJ President — and two years later when the Board voted in favor of admitting male undergraduates.

“The data we received and analyzed was conclusive: by opening the admission process to all academically-qualified students we would have significant opportunities to expand our undergraduate programs, while also providing a catalyst for a more active campus life,” President Free said in a letter to the USJ community. In June of 2017, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to make USJ fully coeducational.

It’s an historic time, and this is just the beginning. The best is yet to come.

President Rhona Free

“By opening the admissions process to all academically-qualified students, we would have significant opportunities to expand our undergraduate programs, while also providing a catalyst for a more active campus life,” said President Free.

Ninety-six male undergraduates enrolled at USJ in Fall 2018 — nearly double the original estimate of 50 — and the number of first-year and transfer students that academic year was a record setting 306. To prepare for the increase in student population, USJ’s leadership made changes, including faculty training and updates in admissions, athletics, and student & campus life while also improving facilities on campus.