Wren Building - 100 Years of Coeducation

While the Wren Building has been a central focus since its opening in 1700, women have only been admitted since 1918, becoming the first coeducational institute of higher learning in Virginia. Despite this, women have held significant leadership roles here and across the country.

Initially, women students reported to separate chains of leadership. Additionally, women were restrained by rules that didn’t apply to their male classmates. For example, women had a curfew, dress codes, and were prohibited from driving in cars with male students. The first Dean of Women for this inaugural class was Caroline Francis Tupper.

William & Mary have had two women Chancellors since 1993. The first was former UK Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher. In 2005, the first woman to sit on the US Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor, was appointed Chancellor; Her investiture occurred three months after her judicial retirement. Portraits of all Chancellors hang in the Wren Building.

In Spring of 2018, William & Mary announced their 28th president, Dr. Katherine Rowe. Her appointment made her the first female president. She began on July 1 and was formally inaugurated on February 8, 2019.