Yale Daily News

2019 marked the 50th year of coeducation at Yale College and the 150th anniversary of coeducation at Yale University, celebrated through a yearlong series of events that spanned all of Yale schools and featured lectures, performances and exhibitions. 

On Sept. 21, many of the 575 women who made history as the first female students to attend Yale College in 1969 revisited Old Campus for a week-long celebration, “50 Fest: Celebrating a Half-Century of Coeducation in Yale College.”  The soiree was part of the 50 Women at Yale 150 initiative, which commemorated their entry of and lasting impact on the University. 

“I was so inspired meeting and hearing the stories of our alumnae who paved the way for coeducation in Yale College, and I was so happy seeing all the students who came to honor them,” Dean of Yale College Marvin Chun wrote in a 2019 email to the News. “I can’t imagine a better way to mark the start of this historic year.”

Attendees had the chance to gather under a vibrantly decorated tent, where they then danced to pop hits of the ’70s and reminisced about their experiences as women in the first coeducational graduating class. 

These memories, which were shared between alumnae and current students, ranged from love stories, where couples met during the early years of coeducation, to moments of exclusion, where women were left out of various clubs, traditions and athletics. 

“[It is] wonderful that Yale is holding a celebratory event,” undergraduate student attendee Onyx Brunner ’20 said. “[But there is] always more the administration can do to make sure everybody is on an equal playing field — [between] men, women and nonbinary people.”

September’s celebrations were open to every woman who arrived at Yale in September 1969 and encouraged them to participate in tours and talks, share their memories as part of an ongoing Oral History Project, watch films and participate in the dedication of the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Stone by poet Elizabeth Alexander ’84.

These programs were supplemented by receptions at the Rose Alumni House and Mory’s, festive meals and various other activities such as a “Movie Night,” a special tour of the Yale University Art Gallery and a Gala Anniversary Dinner at the Omni Hotel. 

“We are doing everything we can to make this celebration as enticing, inviting, validating and welcoming for all women from these classes,” 50th Anniversary Committee member Vera Wells ’71 said. 

The host of events were planned by a committee of faculty and alumnae, in addition to an undergraduate focus group — composed of a mix of undergraduate women and gender non-conforming students and convened by Yale College Council President Sal Rao ’20 — that brainstormed ideas nearly a year in advance of the festivities. 

Eve Rice ’73, a Yale Corporation trustee who chaired the steering committee that organized the event series, spoke about the group of 13 students and how student organizations — such as YSO, the Yale Political Union and the Dramat — were planning on bringing women speakers to campus and highlighting their accomplishments over the years. 

“The anniversaries might be a wonderful opportunity to foster intergenerational conversations between current students and alumnae,” Rice said. 

As the year of programs came to a close in September of 2020, commemorations were livestreamed between Sept. 24 and Sept. 27, featuring Yale alumnae, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton LAW ’73, Academy Award winner Jodie Foster ’85 and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador and poet Emi Mahmoud ’16.

They discussed a wide range of topics, from social justice and democracy to the climate crisis, all aiming to galvanize younger generations into action and follow in the footsteps of Yale women who left their mark on the world, according to event organizers. 

“[These women] set the stage for our work today, to increase the representation of women in faculty positions and in leadership roles across all sectors,” University President Peter Salovey said in his opening address.

The opening speeches were followed by a panel of the webinar series, “The Quest for a Just World,” and a second panel entitled “Art Now,” which focused on discussion of the legacy of Yale women in the arts. In addition, there was also a discussion titled “Making Change When Change is Hard,” centered on the current challenges faced by the world. 

On Friday, a session called “Saving Democracy” was introduced by Clinton and Sen. Amy Klobuchar ’82 and unpacked the American landscape of political polarization; subsequent sessions covered inequality in America, climate change and women using their voices in journalism and mass media. 

“You can’t ever lose hope,” Clinton said. “You have to be willing to keep going, despite the setbacks, and you have to be willing to participate.”

During the final session on Sunday, which concluded an entire year of programming and events as part of the 50WomenAtYale150 initiative, Yale alumnae who went on to teach at Yale spoke about their experiences as undergraduate students, where they had to “risk being the first” and face a semi-unwelcoming environment created by some of their fellow classmates, male professors and inadequate resources and preparations. 

They also discussed the changes they have seen in Yale over the past 50 years, with greater inclusion across a myriad of facets of the Yale undergraduate experience. 

“The admission of women was transformation to women, to Yale college, and to every school,” retired Vice President of Yale and former trustee Linda Koch Lorimer ’77 J.D. said. “It’s time to step back and think about what that means in an era where we recognize the importance of inclusivity.”

When Yale welcomed its first female students in 1969, its male to female ratio was 7:1.