Onyx Fall-Winter 2015

A NEW ERA The Woods Welcomes Men to Campus While celebration is underway of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College's 175th year, the College marked the milestone with a big announcement: the admission of men to the traditional undergraduate program. “This decision was made as much for women as it was for men,” explains SMWC President Dottie King Ph.D. “We remain committed to women and remain committed to strengthening the value of leadership in women and now men as well.” In May 2015, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to become fully coeducational. No doubt a large decision for the College, discussion and deliberation about the decision went on for a year. After the historic vote, male students were able to immediately enroll as commuter students and will become residential students in the fall of 2016. While this decision marks a noticeable shift in the landscape of the campus, men are no strangers to the diverse programs and degree offerings of The Woods. Currently, the College offers coeducational opportunities in both the Woods Online courses and the graduate programs. “We have been coeducational with the majority of our students, but it is still representative of a huge emotional shift for us,” King explains. “We can no longer identity as a women’s only liberal arts college.” King says the decision to enroll men was one that took long discussions next few months Dyer says three different committees will review each of the three pillars and create additional details and action plans, which will be presented again to the Board in February 2016. “The plan gives us a road map and vision for the effort that we are doing and the things that we need to make a priority,” Dyer explains. “As an institution we will decide, this is the way we are headed and what efforts need to be made towards singular aspects. These things are going to help the College move forward.” While distinct plans are still being formed for some aspects, the College has also been moving ahead in others.

and extensive planning. When finally announced, the reviews were mixed. “This decision, we did not make lightly or out of desperation,” she says. “For us to do this, it involved a lot of discernment and this is the best thing for us to do in order to bring the best things for the College.” Not universally excepted, King says she witnessed both cheers and jeers from alumni and current students. While emotions ran high in some cases, others were quick to show support. After the announcement, annual giving increased from alumni and overall fundraising saw success. “Across the board, whether the people that reached out to me with their opinions were nice or not, the range of opinions overall were very positive, but whatever the case this indicated a strong passion for the College,” King says. “They weren’t ignoring the decision, no matter the strong positive or negative it was an indication of care.” After the announcement was made, The Woods only had a couple of months to recruit male students, but received applications and admitted three new male students in 2015. King says each new student was a valuable addition to the campus population and gladly welcomed. “They were all eloquent about why they made the decision to choose The Woods,” she says. “They liked our legacy, the small class size, the campus. What we offer women is also attractive to men.” The coeducation decision pairs with other new changes coming to the College in the 2015 Strategic Plan. Three pillars have been identified with an overarching goal to increase and diversify enrollment. In May 2015, the College announced plans to diversify by introducing men to the SMWC campus. Specifically on the academic side, a new traditional BSN nursing major and the Master of Healthcare Administation will no doubt elevate the College, making The Woods a more competitive choice for prospective students. Just a year ago the new Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center was opened, not only creating new athletic possibilities, but putting a new focus on health and wellness for students and faculty. “We have made some huge strides with completion of the Knoerle Center; we knew that would be important,”

King says. “The next decision we made was the nursing program. The creation of the nursing program took a lot of approval; it took two and a half years and so far it has exceeded our expectations.” With large strides already made and a huge push aimed to become a reality in 2016, King says she looks forward to staying true to the College’s strong history, while creating an innovative future. “This plan is a continuation of a process and it is really gratifying to see it coming together,” she says. “This is truly a work in progress, a working document and something to guide our momentum over the next few years.” These will encompass big things for both women and men at The Woods. The strategic plan outlines continued focus on academics with ideas for new programs and services including more focus on health sciences and more experimental learning opportunities. The plan aims to increase student success, continue the emphasis on The Woods Catholic identity and positioning the College to be a more competitive choice for men and women when choosing a liberal arts college. Opportunities for prospective male students, who have eagerly been visiting the campus in anticipation for admission in the fall of 2016, will also be created through the strategic plan. Wasting no time, SMWC has hired a new male golf coach in September 2015. Terre Haute native Abe Nasser will lead the first-ever men’s golf team. Nasser has already signed two players with other recruits in the pipeline. With high hopes and a new strategic plan in place, King says the decision for coeducation will continue to elevate the College to a high standard and no doubt diversify the student population. She says small steps have been taken to date, with large strides on the horizon. “It feels like the beginning of a new era and expansion of our mission,” King says. “Our mission has always been to care for students beyond the education. High quality education remains the priority but beyond that we want students to value giving back to community, to take care in making promises to themselves and to the world… I think the world needs to have respect for both genders and we will be able to foster that.”

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