First Class Dynamics

Changing the standards...

Raising The Bar

The entrance of women to the University of Virginia's College of Arts and Sciences did, in fact, do what many professors had hoped: it raised the bar for academic expectations. As this photograph humorously portrays, these bright women worked very hard in classes, eradicating the acceptable "gentlemen's C."

Extra-curricular Activities

Women became involved in the most premier student activities upon their entrance into the University. From The Cavalier Daily to IMPs to The Raven Society, these women excelled in an array of extracurricular activities. The admissions office intentionally selected women with a high success rate in high school, suspecting they would continue that trend once they entered the University. Many of these first women attest that they anticipated no boundaries and explored their options limitlessly.

"Women on the Lawn"

Women took the University by storm in 1970. By their final year, they had accomplished all that their male peers had, including living on the Lawn.