Foxhall Road 1946-1999
In 1944, Mount Vernon was granted compensation of $1,038,000 from the United States Navy for the military takeover of its property. The school then purchased 21 acres (85,000 m2) of property for a new campus located on Foxhall Road in Washington, DC. An academic building, four dormitories and a dining room were built, and other buildings gradually added. During the 1960s, the junior college developed new majors in an effort to place emphasis on those subjects which fit well with the capital city, such as those in government and politics, international relations and fine arts. The interior design program in the Junior College was also enhanced; the school phased out its vocational programs such as home economics and secretarial studies to develop its higher education curriculum. During the same period, the Seminary remained one of the most academically rigorous private secondary institutions in the nation and drew record numbers of students from around the country, graduating the largest classes in the Seminary's history. However, deciding that it was financially impossible to run two separate institutions, the Board of Trustees chose in 1965 to close its historic, respected Seminary to build up its collegiate program. The last Seminary class was graduated in 1969.
The school was then officially renamed Mount Vernon Junior College. Mount Vernon was dedicated to remaining a women’s college but faced significant financial struggles due to declining enrollments; the opening of previously all-male institutions to coeducation negatively impacted Mount Vernon and all women's institutions during that era. By 1973, in order to meet the contemporary needs of women, the school began awarding the Bachelor of Arts degree, first in Public Affairs and Government followed by Business Administration, Childhood and Special Education and the Visual Arts. In a move to seek additional revenue, the college began a continuing education program. In 1976, Mount Vernon College became an accredited four year college.
Read more about this topic: Mount Vernon College For Women
Famous quotes containing the word road:
“There was now no road further, the river being the only highway, and but half a dozen log huts, confined to its banks, to be met with for thirty miles. On either hand, and beyond, was a wholly uninhabited wilderness, stretching to Canada.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)