The 50th anniversary of coeducation was celebrated through a variety of activities including virtual events, exhibitions, lectures, and more throughout the 2020-21 academic year.

Marking the Moment

More than 100 members of the first classes of women assembled virtually on Sept. 10 to celebrate the anniversary of the first day of class 50 years ago. The historic moment marked the beginning of Lafayette’s transition to coeducation. Members of the “First Women” (female graduates between 1972-81), representing the first decade of coeducation at the College, shared reflections and virtual toasts to commemorate the occasion. Among the attendees were Lafayette’s first female president, Alison Byerly, and Chair of the Board of Trustees Robert Sell ’84, who presented a toast to “All the First Women, who fearlessly stepped on campus in September 1970, and those who have continued to lead Lafayette since that day.”

View the slideshow of archival images shown during the event.

Read the toasts from the evening.

 

Year Long Initiatives