Date of Award

Spring 2019

Project Type

Dissertation

Program or Major

Education

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

First Advisor

Todd A. DeMitchell

Second Advisor

Joseph J. Onosko

Third Advisor

Winston C. Thompson

Abstract

This study examines Saint Anselm College’s transition to a fully coeducational Benedictine Catholic liberal arts college between 1969 and 1979, employing a twofold data sample comprised of archival documents and oral history interviews with early female alumnae, who experienced campus life firsthand during the 1960s and 1970s. The researcher conducted analysis of historical documents available at Saint Anselm College, including: presidential files, minutes of the monastic and Advisory Board of Trustees meetings, college yearbooks, Registrar and Dean’s Office data, college catalogues, Advancement Office data, New Hampshire College and University Council (NHCUC) data, New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation data, and correspondence between administrators at Saint Anselm College and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester and other Catholic colleges and universities in the Greater Manchester, New Hampshire area. These varied archival data samples, coupled with rich firsthand oral history interviews provided critical evidence concerning the factors that contributed to Saint Anselm College’s full transition to coeducation and the significant impacts involving campus culture and environment, resulting from the College’s decision to transition to a fully coeducational institution.

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