Mount Vernon College For Women - Spring Valley, 1943-1946

Spring Valley, 1943-1946

In early 1943, the campus was relocated to the top floor of a Garfinckel’s department store building in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Washington, DC. All but nine students returned to the school which re-opened on February 1, 1943. This was a spread out campus located in the store and different homes that were purchased in the neighborhood. While in Spring Valley, the school began examining its programs and realized that it was operating essentially two different schools, the Seminary and the junior college. This placed the school under a severe financial and administrative drain. The school considered closing one arm of the school but tabled the idea at the time. The school applied for accreditation and began awarding the Associates of Arts degree in 1944 to junior college graduates.