William Peace University Welcomes Men To Class

Classes begin today at William Peace University in Raleigh. Men are taking their seats as undergraduates at the school for the first time.

Gurnal Scott: Male students moved in this past weekend at the former Peace College. Enrollment for the incoming class is said to be one-third men. The decision to admit men was made by the school's board of trustees before the summer of 2011. Todd Robinson, chair of the school's trustee board at the time of the change, cited several reasons for the decision in an article for the News and Observer last August. He said as enrollment opportunities increased at co-ed schools, women's colleges began dying out from more than 200 in the 1950's to less than 50 in 2010. He also cited difficulty in increasing women-only enrollment at Peace. The end of the 155-year-old all-women tradition at William Peace University leaves nearby Meredith College as the only college for women in Raleigh.