Wesleyan University went through two phases of coeducation, the first of which lasted from 1872 to 1909, and the second from 1970 to the present. In the first phase, women represented a small minority of the undergraduate community, and only forty-three women graduated in the period from 1872 and 1892. However, female admissions increased in 1898, which led to a corresponding decrease in male admissions. From 1900 onward, the decline in Wesleyan's overall admissions contributed to the movement against coeducation, as many feared that the college had become too "feminized." In 1909, the Board of Trustees decided to end coeducation at Wesleyan, which would remain an all-male institution until 1970.
The Coeducation Collection includes notes, letters, records, clippings, photographs, and meeting transcripts from Wesleyan University's first phase of coeducation (1872-1909). These materials date from 1871 to 1998.
A full inventory of the collection can be found in the finding aid.