The first American affiliated college was the so-called Harvard annex,
which was brought into existence by the devoted efforts of a small
number of influential professors of Harvard college, who voluntarily
formed themselves into a “Society for the collegiate instruction of
women,” and repeated each week to classes of women the lectures and
class work they gave to men in Harvard college. The idea first
occurred to Mr. Arthur Gilman in 1878. Girton college, Cambridge,
England, after which the annex was modeled, had then been in
successful operation for nine years. Mrs. Louis Agassiz, the widow of
the famous naturalist, agreed to become the official head of the
undertaking, and she associated with herself other influential Boston
and Cambridge women. Mr. Arthur Gilman became the secretary of the
society. The president of Harvard college declared that, so far as the
university was concerned, the professors were free to teach women in
their leisure hours if they chose. The annex was opened for students
in 1879 in a rented house near the Harvard campus with 25 students.
Footnote 33:
The medical school of the Johns Hopkins university is a true
university school, admitting only holders of the bachelor’s degree;
the law school of Harvard university is practically a university
school, although seniors in Harvard college are received as students.
Footnote 34:
Out of the 58 most important American colleges enumerated on page 12
only 23, it will be remembered, appear in the lists of the Federation
of graduate clubs. Unfortunately it must not be inferred that all
these 23 colleges are doing true professional work and offering
graduate students a three years’ course leading to the degree of Ph.
D. In some of them there are provided only courses leading to the
degree of A. M., which, like the degree of A. B., indicating general
culture. The affiliated college of Radcliffe appears in the list of
graduate clubs, although it can scarcely be said to exist
independently as a separate graduate school, being virtually the
portal by which women are admitted to a limited amount of graduate
work at Harvard. In 1899–1900 only 12 graduate lecture courses and 3
research courses were repeated at Radcliffe.
Footnote 35:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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