Douglass Residential College is a part of Rutgers University. It offers a four-year, women-centered community that focuses on developing women's success. While Douglass no longer offers a separate degree,^[1] it does provide a variety of opportunities for young women to reside in women-only residence halls, to participate in women-centered organizations and to develop leadership skills.

Background

Douglass was founded as the New Jersey College for Women in 1918 by Mabel Smith Douglass with generous support from the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs.^[2] In 1955, the name was changed to Douglass College in honor of its founder, Mabel Smith Douglass. In 2007, the name was once again changed, this time to Douglass Residential College. Today, Douglass is the largest public women's college in the United States.^[3]

Notable Alumnae

Alice Aycock DC'68: Sculptor

Julia Baxter Bates^[4] DC'38: Civil Rights Pioneer

Elise M. Boulding DC'40: Peace Activist, Nobel Prize nominee

Patricia Smith Campbell^[5] DC'63: Chemist, inventor of the transdermal patch

Carol T. Christ DC'66: President, Smith College

Sandra Clark Consentino DC'59: Documentary director. Winner of 3 Emmys.http://www.consentinofilms.com

Janet Evanovich DC'65: New York Times best-selling author

Sharon Fordham DC'75: CEO, WeightWatchers.com^[6]

Jean Griswold DC'52: Founder, Griswold Special Care^[7]

Elizabeth Cavanna Harrison DC'29: Noted author, pen names include: Betty Cavanna, Elizabeth Headley and Betsy Allen.^[8]

Barbara J. Krumsiek DC'74: President and CEO, The Calvert Group, Ltd.^[9]

Susan Ness DC'70: FCC commissioner (1994-2001). President and CEO, Women's Radio Network, LLC.

Janet Norwood DC'75: US Commisioner of Labor Statistics (1979-1991). Past president, American Statistical Association.^[10]

Carole Frandsen St. Mark DC'65: Director, Gerber Scientific^[11]

"Joanne Yatvin, DC '52: President of the National Council of Teachers of English (2006-2007). Author of books and articles for teachers.

Merge with other colleges to form School of Arts and Sciences

In 2005, Rutgers University President Richard Levis McCormick unveiled plans to merge Douglass College with the University's three other undergraduate liberal arts colleges — Rutgers College, Livingston College and University College — to create the School of Arts and Sciences. Those plans to merge Douglass with the other colleges proved controversial, resulting in numerous open forums and town hall meetings. ^[12]

In 2007 Douglass became the Douglass Residential College within Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences, as the result of a compromise between those who wanted a complete merger and those who wanted the college to remain as a separate, degree-granting institution.^[1][13]

Deans of Douglass

Mabel Smith Douglass (1918-1932): A graduate of Barnard College, Mabel Smith Douglass was a leader of the New Jersey State Federation of Women?s Clubs.

Margaret Trumbull Corwin (1934-1955): A graduate of Bryn Mawr with a master?s degree from Yale. It was during Dean Corwin?s tenure that the New Jersey College for Women became Douglass College.

Mary Ingraham Bunting (1955-1960): A graduate of Vassar with advanced degrees in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin. She resigned to become president of Radcliffe.

Ruth Marie Adams (1960-1966): An Adelphi graduate with a doctorate in English from Radcliffe. She resigned to become president of Wellesley.

Margery Somers Foster (1967-1975): A graduate of Wellesley with a doctorate in economics from Radcliffe.

Jewel Plummer Cobb (1976-1981): A graduate of Talladega College in Alabama with advanced degrees in cell biology from New York University. She resigned to become president of California State University at Fullerton.

Mary S. Hartman (1982-1994): A graduate of Swarthmore with an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University in history, Mary S. Hartman became a member of the Douglass History Department in 1968 (Institute for Women?s Leadership, 2004, p. 1). She served as director of the Women?s Studies Institute from 1975 to 1977, was named acting dean in 1981, and dean in 1982. She resigned to become director of the Institute for Women?s Leadership at Rutgers University.

Barbara A. Shailor (1996-2001): A graduate of Wilson College with a master?s degree and doctorate in classics from the University of Cincinnati. She resigned to become Director of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. She was appointed the Deputy Provost for the Arts at Yale University in 2003.

Carmen Twillie Ambar (2002-2008): A graduate of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Carmen Twillie Ambar received a law degree from Columbia School of Law and a master?s in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. In 2008, Ambar resigned to become president of Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA.

References

External links

• Official Website