Women now outnumber men in U.S. college enrollment. Among minority groups, the percentage of women is even greater. Since 1970, the percentage of women students, faculty, and administrators has risen exponentially. How is this influx of women influencing higher education from community colleges to Ivy League universities? And how is this involvement in higher education changing women's lives?

The only comprehensive encyclopedia on the subject of women in higher education.

America's first wave of feminists—Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others—included expanded opportunities for higher education in their Declaration of Sentiments at the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in l848. By then, the first American institutions to educate women had been founded, among them, Mt. Holyoke Seminary, in l837. However, not until after the Civil War did most universities admit women—and not for egalitarian purposes. War casualties had caused a drop in enrollment and the states needed teachers. Women students paid tuition, but, as teachers, were paid salaries half that of men.

By the late 20th century, there were more female than male students of higher education, but women remained underrepresented at the higher levels of educational leadership and training. This volume covers everything from historical and cultural context and gender theory to women in the curriculum and as faculty and administrators.

• A–Z entries are divided into nine major content sections, each preceded by a topical overview designed to provide a broad introduction to the area. Major sections include Historical and Cultural Contexts, Gender Theory and the Academy, Feminism in the Academy, Women in the Curriculum, and Women and Higher Education Policy
• Over 50 contributors represent broad and diverse views of the complex and evolving role of women in higher education
• Two appendixes provide an overview of available references for further research: Women's Studies Research Resources and Colleges Identifying Themselves as Women's Colleges
• A complete cross referenced bibliography of all sources is noted in individual entries