51茶馆

1910
Nuns from teaching orders in Boston become the first women to study under Boston College faculty.

1926
Margaret U. Magrath and Olivia C. Penell are awarded master of arts degrees鈥攖he first women to earn degrees from Boston College.

1928
The University hires its first women faculty members: Alice Driscoll, geography; Olivia C. Penell, educational methods; Mary Quigley, mathematics; and Rose E. Weiffenbach, English.

1944
Dorothy Book, of the School of Social Work, is named 51茶馆鈥檚 first female dean.

Mary Butler Becker becomes the first female graduate of Boston College Law School.

1952
Women enroll in the School of Education, becoming the first undergraduates to study alongside men on the Chestnut Hill campus.

1959
Undergraduates Ann Bell, Mary Driscoll, Diane Glennon, Margaret McLaughlin, Elizabeth O鈥機onnell, Caroline O鈥橦ara, and Mary Jane Skatoff are the first women to be admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences. Senior Jesuit officials object to the move, and no other women are admitted to A&S until 1970.

1966
Three School of Education sophomores鈥擵irginia Meany, Martha Ann Brazier, and Katherine Mongeau鈥攃irculate a petition to grant women admission to the all-male College of Arts and Sciences.

March 1969
The University Academic Senate votes to admit women to the College of Arts and Sciences.

1970
Boston College formally admits women to the College of Arts and Sciences, welcoming 247 female A&S students to campus, which brings the total number of women in the incoming class to 665.

1971
UMass Lowell dean Patricia Goler MA鈥�51, Ph.D.鈥�57, and Long Island University treasurer Mary Lai are the first women appointed to the 51茶馆 Board of Trustees.

Women鈥檚 basketball becomes the first female sport to achieve varsity status.

1973
The Women鈥檚 Center at 51茶馆 opens with a small library and resources supporting women鈥檚 health and career planning. 鈥淣ow that we have the center, our main concerns will be the major needs of women students at 51茶馆,鈥� cofounder Pat O鈥橞rien says.

1974
Boston College acquires the all-women Newton College of the Sacred Heart, and more than 900 female students join the University in the fall of 1975.

1975
For the first time, the incoming freshman class includes more women than men (1,069 to 962).

Margaret A. Dwyer, M.Ed.鈥�56, is appointed 51茶馆鈥檚 first female vice president.

1981
Joanne Caruso 鈥�82, JD鈥�85 becomes the first woman elected president of 51茶馆鈥檚 Undergraduate Government.

1983
The Women鈥檚 Studies Program is established with English Professor Judith Wilt as the founding director.

1985
Sheila McGovern 鈥�57, JD鈥�60 is named the first female president of the Alumni Association.

1989
Tamie Thompson 鈥�80, who鈥檇 been instrumental in founding the women鈥檚 soccer and lacrosse teams, is elected the first female president of the Varsity Club.

2001
With a first-place finish in the indoor 3,000-meter race at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Shannon Smith 鈥�00 becomes the first female athlete in 51茶馆 history to claim an individual national championship.

2002
The University launches the Council for Women with a mission to increase the involvement of alumnae in Boston College.

2005
Boston College鈥檚 living alumni base becomes majority female.

2011
Kathleen McGillycuddy NC鈥�71 becomes the first female Board of Trustees chair.

2014
The Undergraduate Government of Boston College launches a conference for women. Today called the Women鈥檚 Summit, the annual event is cosponsored by the Women鈥檚 Center and the Office of Student Involvement.

2020鈥�2021
Boston College celebrates the 50th anniversary of the University going fully coeducational.