Mount Holyoke College History

Chemist and educator Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke College then called Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1837, nearly a century before women gained the right to vote.

After Mary Lyon's death in 1849, the principles she had labored so long to establish high academic standards and commitment to service remained vigorous and alive.

The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, founded in 1876, is one of the oldest collegiate art museums in the nation.

In 1888, during the principalship of Elizabeth Blanchard '58, the institution obtained collegiate status and was named Mount Holyoke Seminary and College.

In 1889, students traveling from the midwest could take these examinations in Freeport, Illinois, and within a few years, this was expanded to other cities.

The school formally became Mount Holyoke College in 1893.

When fire destroyed the original seminary building in 1896, Mead initiated an extensive building plan that included the construction of a physics and chemistry building, a gymnasium, and several residence halls based on the cottage system.

Mary Emma Woolley, a noted advocate for international women's rights, served as president for thirty-seven years beginning in 1900.

On November 6, 1971, after reviewing an exhaustive study on coeducation, the board of trustees decided unanimously that Mount Holyoke should remain a women's college, and a group of faculty was charged with recommending curricular changes that would support the decision.

In 1978, Elizabeth Topham Kennan '60 became the first alumna in the twentieth century to serve as president of Mount Holyoke College.

Under Kennan's leadership, the College's endowment grew from 52.5 million to 246.6 million in 1995.

Admission of transgender students edit At Convocation on September 2, 2014, President Lynn Pasquerella announced a new policy allowing the admission of transgender individuals of both sexes to the college, as well as the admission of students whose gender identities are non-binary.