1857 — Michigan State Sen. Edmund Burke Fairfield, while still president of Hillsdale College, proposes that the state university be opened to women, reflecting Hillsdale’s own charter. The issue is tabled almost unanimously.
1893 — The role of women in American higher education in the 19th century expands with the creation of the Hillsdale College Board of Women Commissioners, who elect Mrs. Helen M. Gougar (pictured) as president. Hillsdale became one of the first colleges to have female trustees.
The Board would be to thank for raising tens of thousands of dollars throughout the next century, endowing the Dean of Women position and several professorships, as well as buildings like Mauck Hall, Olds Residence, and the preschool.
-Compiled by Dane Skorup
