Gender, Markets, and the Expansion of Women's Education at the University of Pennsylvania, 1913–1940

Abstract

In the fall of 2001, with posters, tote bags, speakers, and balloons, the University of Pennsylvania launched its celebration of “125 Years of Women at Penn.” Exhibits illustrating the experiences of women students appeared around campus and on the Web, while banners trumpeting the contributions of Penn women waved from lightposts. On the first weekend in November, the University dedicated a four-foot seal marking the “Women's Walkway” in the center of campus and praised the tens of thousands of women who helped shape the University into what it is today. The festive anniversary, more than two years in the making, celebrated, in the words of University Trustee Judith Berkowitz, “the foresight of a great university to take in women when others did not.” The legacy of women at Penn was important to remember, Berkowitz added, because “it's very empowering to know your history.”