THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 5, 1996 TAG: 9602050056
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Graduate students at the University of Virginia are delving into the past 100 years of the school's history to trace the institution's transformation from an all-white, all-male school.
``It's a very brave thing to do,'' said university historian Phyllis K. Leffler, who is involved in the effort. ``It takes a lot of courage for the university to say, `We're not afraid to look at our past.' ''
The most recent comprehensive university history, ``Mr. Jefferson's University,'' written by the late Virginius Dabney, was published in 1974 as the university was beginning to admit women and blacks in large numbers.
``Until Dabney, we had a university that was mostly populated by men, by white men,'' said Jeffrey Plank, an assistant provost. ``In the last 25 years we've become a much more diverse student body.
``Most folks felt that there were additional chapters to be written.''
As part of the research, graduate history students last year began poring through archives, dusty yearbooks and student lists to compile a directory of all known residents of the historic Lawn between 1895 and 1995.
They sent in-depth questionnaires to the 1,200 living alumni who were Lawn residents during the 20th century. They have received about 450 responses in six weeks.
Leffler, an assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, is teaching an experimental course for undergraduates who have begun to analyze the responses.
Edna Johnston, a doctoral student in history who was in charge of compiling the Lawn directory, said the research already has revealed some long-held misconceptions.
``One is that there were no women here before 1970,'' when Virginia first officially opened its doors to women, Johnston said. ``There were actually as many as 1,000 women at the university before that. They were in the education and nursing schools.
``They were called `local girls' - they lived in the area and so the university didn't have to worry about housing,'' Johnston said.
On April 13, Jefferson's birthday, students and historians will present some of their findings during a workshop. And after that, many are hoping a revised written history of the university is in the offing. by CNB