The Foundation for Coeducation
The foundation for coeducation at Bowdoin was laid by president James Stacy Coles, who served from 1952 to 1967. Coles and his administration grappled with questions regarding coeducation, fraternities, and College expansion in various committees and working groups. The administration considered and debated the establishment of a graduate program and admittance of women in the 1960s.
For many colleges who introduced coeducation in the 1960s and 70s, coeducation was not about women alone. It was about how women would affect both the men students and the status of the college. In this interview with Jim De Gallo from 1965 entitled “Should Bowdoin Go Co-ed?” Coles discusses the “datability” of potential women students at the College and the ways that coeducation could harm the academic and intellectual experience of Bowdoin men.
“I've talked to the president of coeducational colleges and they say they don't think that the coeds really add anything to the intellectual atmosphere at all. And in fact, there are some times, they say, that they think there are signs that this detracts from the intellectual atmosphere of the male student body, because very often the coeds are apt to exceed or excel the males and the males sort of make a pretense of not wanting to become intellectually involved.”
🔊Listen below to excerpts from the interview with President James Coles by Jim De Gallo, WBOR, March 2, 1965
President James Stacy Coles, photograph, 1965