Barleywood Female University was a short-lived

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It is notable for having been one of the first institutions of higher learning for women in the state and for its connection to the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of ...

History

Following the 1850 establishment of the University of Rochester, then a

men's college In higher education, a men's college is an undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institution whose students are exclusively men. Many are liberal arts colleges. Around the world In North America United States In the United States, co-ed ...

, local leaders decided a women's college was also necessary. In 1851,

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

investor Azariah Boody and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...

Lewis H. Morgan collaborated to found Barleywood Female University, also informally known as Rochester Female College. Local donors pledged $15,000 to open Barleywood, and land for the

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-li ...

was donated by Boody. With Boody as president and Morgan serving on the

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit org ...

, Barleywood opened in 1852 and quickly gained the support of many within the University of Rochester community, including several faculty members who chose to teach at the institution. A

brochure A brochure is originally an informative paper document (often also used for advertising) that can be folded into a template, pamphlet, or leaflet. A brochure can also be a set of related unfolded papers put into a pocket folder or packet or can ...

circulated by Boody to promote the college stated:

There is no good reason why female education should not be as thorough, as systematic, and also as cheap as it is in our colleges; or why female seminaries should not bear with them a favorable comparison. The only way to build up such institutions, and to make them instruments of widespread usefulness is to secure to them large, liberal, and permanent
endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance * Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to ...
s.

After a successful early start, however, Barleywood was quickly met with financial problems. The college sank into

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

and was closed in 1853, with Boody donating the college's land to the University of Rochester. Subsequent attempts to revive the university or start another women's college in Rochester failed, and it was not until 1898 that the University of Rochester became fully

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

al, a development that took place largely thanks to

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, whic ...

from local

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...

activist

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

References

* May, A.J.
University of Rochester History
"

Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation, 2005. Accessed March 20, 2008. * May, Arthur James and Klein, Lawrence Eliot. ''A History of the University of Rochester, 1850-1962''. University of Rochester Press, 1997. * Miller-Bernal, Leslie and Susan L. Poulson. ''Going Coed: Women's Experiences in Formerly Men's Colleges and Universities, 1950–2000''. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2004. *
Upstate New York and the Women's Rights Movement
"

Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation, 2006. Accessed March 20, 2008.

External links

University of Rochester

Rochester's History

A Brief History of Women's Colleges
1852 establishments in New York (state) 1853 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct private universities and colleges in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1852 Educational institutions disestablished in 1853 History of women in New York (state) History of Rochester, New York

History

See also

References

External links