Since its establishment in 1885, Bryn Mawr has been a place for women to challenge themselves academically. The ability to do this was cultivated by its metaphorical mother, M. Carey Thomas. Her vision for the school surpassed her male colleagues idea of “female Haverford” and helped develop a school where women learned in a format formulated for this intellectual needs and desires. What was essential then, however, may not remain to be necessary now, especially if Bryn Mawr wishes to prosper in the ecological age. By comparing John Berry’s notions of a successful academic institution with Thomas’s long-lasting goals for the school, several differences in both ends and means of the schools mission arise.

            Joseph Taylor originally envisioned Bryn Mawr in 1877. However, his vision was radically changed by the time of its establishment in 1885, due largely to the contributions of M. Carey Thomas. Taylor had intended Bryn Mawr to be a “female Haverford;” an institution for orthodox Quaker women to receive higher education. Carey’s commitment to the college became apparent with her ardent attempts to create an institution that gave women the same academic rigor as a male’s institution tailored to women’s needs. She did not want a replica of a pre-existing form; her eventually realized dream was to create an entirely new kind of academic institution.

Next Thursday, we're going to read a preface written by Gloria Steinem. I know it's a bit late, but I found out that she is giving a talk at Haverford tonight. If you're interested in going, here's a link to the description on Haverford's website: http://www.haverford.edu/calendar/details/207291

Introduction

After my cousin’s college graduation I asked her, out of curiosity, when her school was founded and by whom. She did not have the answers to these questions, let alone more specific answers about the geography of her campus, or the architecture of her school. While I can’t tell you who built all of the buildings on Bryn Mawr College’s campus, with each passing year I become more and more familiar with Bryn Mawr College as a community, as a place on a map, and as an interconnected ecosystem. The longer I attend Bryn Mawr the more adamant I become in the value of really knowing the place where I live and work. This gives me a feeling of centeredness, and a knowledge of my surroundings that is intellectually empowering. I think that to find the center of a place you have to start by exploring and learning about all of it. You must develop an ecological appreciation for it. You need to start from the center and move outwards. Moving in this way I have been able to expand my first web event (/exchange/turning-circles), in order to make it more expensive and representative of Bryn Mawr’s campus. I have tried to familiarize myself with information about parts of campus through the internet, my own experiences, and by taking to college staff members. Here is what I discovered.