Randolph-Macon Woman's College
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Randolph-Macon Woman's College is a private liberal arts women's college located on a 100-acre campus in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1891, the school has an enrollment of about 750 students. R-MWC offers programs of study leading to a bachelor's degree in more than 25 majors.
History
The college was founded by William Waugh Smith, then-president of Randolph-Macon College, under Randolph-Macon's charter after failing to convince R-MC to become co-educational. R-MWC and R-MC have been governed by a separate board of trustees since 1953. R-MWC has historic ties to the United Methodist Church.
R-MWC is well-respected as an academic institution, and is considered one of the "Seven Sisters of the South." In 1916, R-MWC became the first women's college in the South to earn a Phi Beta Kappa charter.
R-MWC is in the top 10% of all colleges and universities in America in the percentage of graduates who eventually earn a Ph.D.
Recently, the faculty, administration and board of trustees have been working to form a strategic plan for the future of the college. Among the many things being considered, one was to study the impact of the college becoming co-educational. Students and alumnae were quick to protest this idea, citing many reasons why their experiences at R-MWC were enriched by its status as a single-sex community.
In another unpopular decision, the board of trustees opted to end their commitment to owning a study abroad program at the University of Reading. This decision was contested by students and alumnae, and the program was temporarily reopened, but its future is unknown.
Alumnae
Notable alumnae include Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck (1914), U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston photography curator Anne Tucker (named "America's Best Curator" by Time Magazine, 2001), and US Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Policy Suzanne Patrick.
Name and nickname
The full name of the school is sometimes mistakenly "corrected" to Randolph-Macon Women's College by well-meaning editors. Officially, R-MWC is a "Woman's College" not a "Women's College." Although this may seem like a grammatical error, it is consistent with late 19th century usage and was considered perfectly correct at the time the school was founded. The college also notes that it is educating one woman at a time, in the singular. R-MWC is also known by the nickname "Randy Mac."
External link
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