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5
A NEW ERA
The Woods Welcomes
Men to Campus
next few months Dyer says three different
committees will review each of the three
pillars and create additional details and
action plans, which will be presented again
to the Board in February 2016.
“The plan gives us a road map and vision
for the effort that we are doing and the
things that we need to make a priority,”
Dyer explains. “As an institution we will
decide, this is the way we are headed and
what efforts need to be made towards
singular aspects. These things are going to
help the College move forward.”
While distinct plans are still being formed
for some aspects, the College has also been
moving ahead in others.
While celebration is underway of Saint
Mary-of-the-Woods College's 175th year,
the College marked the milestone with a
big announcement: the admission of men
to the traditional undergraduate program.
“This decision was made as much for
women as it was for men,” explains
SMWC President Dottie King Ph.D.
“We remain committed to women and
remain committed to strengthening the
value of leadership in women and now
men as well.”
In May 2015, the Board of Trustees
voted unanimously to become fully
coeducational. No doubt a large decision
for the College, discussion and deliberation
about the decision went on for a year.
After the historic vote, male students were
able to immediately enroll as commuter
students and will become residential
students in the fall of 2016.
While this decision marks a noticeable
shift in the landscape of the campus, men
are no strangers to the diverse programs
and degree offerings of The Woods.
Currently, the College offers coeducational
opportunities in both the Woods Online
courses and the graduate programs.
“We have been coeducational with
the majority of our students, but it is
still representative of a huge emotional
shift for us,” King explains. “We can no
longer identity as a women’s only liberal
arts college.”
King says the decision to enroll men
was one that took long discussions
and extensive planning. When finally
announced, the reviews were mixed.
“This decision, we did not make
lightly or out of desperation,” she says.
“For us to do this, it involved a lot of
discernment and this is the best thing
for us to do in order to bring the best
things for the College.”
Not universally excepted, King says
she witnessed both cheers and jeers
from alumni and current students. While
emotions ran high in some cases, others
were quick to show support. After
the announcement, annual giving
increased from alumni and overall
fundraising saw success.
“Across the board, whether the people
that reached out to me with their opinions
were nice or not, the range of opinions
overall were very positive, but whatever
the case this indicated a strong passion
for the College,” King says. “They weren’t
ignoring the decision, no matter the
strong positive or negative it was an
indication of care.”
After the announcement was made,
The Woods only had a couple of months
to recruit male students, but received
applications and admitted three new male
students in 2015. King says each new
student was a valuable addition to the
campus population and gladly welcomed.
“They were all eloquent about why they
made the decision to choose The Woods,”
she says. “They liked our legacy, the small
class size, the campus. What we offer
women is also attractive to men.”
The coeducation decision pairs with
other new changes coming to the College
in the 2015 Strategic Plan. Three pillars
have been identified with an overarching
goal to increase and diversify enrollment.
In May 2015, the College announced
plans to diversify by introducing men to
the SMWC campus.
Specifically on the academic side, a
new traditional BSN nursing major and
the Master of Healthcare Administation
will no doubt elevate the College, making
The Woods a more competitive choice for
prospective students.
Just a year ago the new Jeanne Knoerle
Sports and Recreation Center was opened,
not only creating new athletic possibilities,
but putting a new focus on health and
wellness for students and faculty.
“We have made some huge strides
with completion of the Knoerle Center;
we knew that would be important,”
King says. “The next decision we
made was the nursing program. The
creation of the nursing program took
a lot of approval; it took two and a
half years and so far it has exceeded
our expectations.”
With large strides already made and
a huge push aimed to become a reality
in 2016, King says she looks forward to
staying true to the College’s strong history,
while creating an innovative future.
“This plan is a continuation of a process
and it is really gratifying to see it coming
together,” she says. “This is truly a work
in progress, a working document and
something to guide our momentum over
the next few years.”
These will encompass big things for
both women and men at The Woods. The
strategic plan outlines continued focus on
academics with ideas for new programs
and services including more focus on health
sciences and more experimental learning
opportunities. The plan aims to increase
student success, continue the emphasis on
The Woods Catholic identity and positioning
the College to be a more competitive choice
for men and women when choosing a liberal
arts college.
Opportunities for prospective male
students, who have eagerly been visiting the
campus in anticipation for admission in the
fall of 2016, will also be created through the
strategic plan. Wasting no time, SMWC has
hired a new male golf coach in September
2015. Terre Haute native Abe Nasser will
lead the first-ever men’s golf team. Nasser
has already signed two players with other
recruits in the pipeline.
With high hopes and a new strategic
plan in place, King says the decision for
coeducation will continue to elevate the
College to a high standard and no doubt
diversify the student population. She says
small steps have been taken to date, with
large strides on the horizon.
“It feels like the beginning of a new era
and expansion of our mission,” King says.
“Our mission has always been to care for
students beyond the education. High quality
education remains the priority but beyond
that we want students to value giving
back to community, to take care in making
promises to themselves and to the world… I
think the world needs to have respect
for both genders and we will be able to
foster that.”