User:West Virginian/Women's College of Delaware

The Women's College of Delaware is a former women's college in the city of Newark in the U.S. state of Delaware.

Campus geography and setting
The former campus of the Women's College of Delaware is located on the present-day campus of the University of Delaware in the city of Newark in New Castle County, Delaware. The college campus consisted of 19 acres, and it was located approximately 12 mi west-southwest of Delaware's largest city Wilmington and approximately 38 mi north-northwest of the state capital of Dover.

Campus buildings
When the Women's College of Delaware opened in 1914, its 19 acre campus had two buildings: a dormitory known as Residence Hall and a classroom building known as Science Hall. The two buildings were built along a north-south axis, with their main facades facing west and east, and are presently located between South College Avenue to the west and a lawn known as the Green to the east. The former campus was bound to its south by East Park Place. When completed in 1914, Residence Hall contained 50 dormitory rooms.

Establishment
On 20 March 1913, the Delaware General Assembly passed an act establishing the Women's College of Delaware. The act established a commission, appointed by the Delaware General Assembly, to plan and organize the college. By June 2014, this commission was comprised of Governor of Delaware Charles R. Miller, Dr. George W. Marshall of Milford, Hon. Chauncey P. Holcomb, Mrs. Alfred D. Warner of the Delaware State Federation of Women's Clubs, Professor Harry Hayward of the Delaware State Board of Education, and Samuel J. Wright of the Delaware College trustees. Hayward was a replacement for George W. Twitmyer following Twitmyer's death.

From its establishment, the Women's College of Delaware was affiliated with nearby Delaware College (present-day University of Delaware), which was an all all-male school. Delaware College provided the Women's College with guidance on curriculum development and appointed a committee to act on behalf of its trustees. This committee consisted of Chancellor Charles M. Curtis, Henry B. Thompson of Greenville, Henry Ridgely of Dover, and Lewis M. Mustard of Lewes. In 1914, an advisory council of women was appointed by the president of the Delaware College trustees and former Delaware Governor Preston Lea. The female advisory council was comprised of Mrs. A. D. Warner, Mrs. William P. Bancroft of Wilmington, Mrs. Mary A. Brown of Milford, and Mrs. Charles B. Evans of Newark. Winifred Josephine Robinson was the college's first dean, and its executive head.

In June 1914, the college published an article "For Delaware Girls An Opportunity" in the The News Journal in which it stated that it was ready to accept the 178 young women who were graduating from Delaware's secondary schools that month, as well as young women from across the United States. The college held its first entrance examinations at nearby Delaware College on 19 and 20 June 1914.

The Women's College of Delaware was formally opened and dedicated on 10 October 1914.

Tuition and scholarships
When the Women's College of Delaware opened in 1914, attendance was free to residents of Delaware, and out-of-state residents paid a tuition fee of $60. Prior to its 1914 opening, the Women's College of Delaware offered three scholarships valued at $100 each. In addition, the Delaware Association of College Women provided a scholarship to the young woman who scored the highest on the college's entrance examination. For the institution's inaugural academic year, room and board in the Residence Hall cost all students $200.

Legacy
In 2014, the University of Delaware marked the centennial of the establishment of the Women's College of Delaware with a series of speakers, displays, and educational events.

As of 2018, Residence Hall is a dormitory known as Warner Hall and Science Hall is an academic building known as Robinson Hall, which houses the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE).