Girard College - History

History

Girard College was founded in 1833 and opened on January 1, 1848, under provisions of the will of Stephen Girard.

His vision as a school for poor, white, orphaned boys who had lost their fathers was unique in educating an entirely unserved population. Girard saw a chance to educate boys who might otherwise be lost and to prepare them for useful, productive lives. Girard's vision for the school can best be understood in the context of early 19th-century Philadelphia. The city was at the forefront of creating innovative American institutions designed to solve a specific social challenge, such as the Eastern State Penitentiary (humane incarceration), the Pennsylvania Hospital (mental illness), the Pennsylvania Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb (disabilities), and the Franklin Institute (scientific knowledge). Girard chose to dedicate his immense fortune to help educate Americans for the future.

The term "orphan" appears in the will, and Girard specified "poor, white, male" orphans.

However, in 1831, a mother who became a widow had no rights and resources, and guardians were often appointed. In reality, Girard operated as a school for boys who were fatherless as a result of death of the father and were not children with no living parents or guardians, such as may become the wards of orphanages. Therefore, the use of the term "orphans." As the 20th century progressed and women achieved full and equal rights and status including the right to vote, "orphans" became erroneous as a term of reference for Girard students, who, up to 1960s social changes, were fatherless by means of death.

Not part of the School District of Philadelphia, the school was segregated well after Brown v. Board of Education until it was ordered to desegregate by the Supreme Court. Perhaps the key to the ruling was that Girard, following its founder's will, was administered by the Board of City Trusts, and that public institution could not maintain that historical entrance requirement. The first African-American male student was admitted in 1968.

The first female student was admitted as a first grader in 1984, following more adjustments to the admission criteria, so that the death of a father was no longer required. Girls were gradually integrated into the school over a 12-year period with subsequent new female students only permitted to enroll in the same graduating class as the first female student or a younger class. The first females graduated in 1993. Girard's first female valedictorian is Kimberly Green. The graduating class of 1996 was the first class to graduate with more females than males, although it remains more or less balanced.

The College made history in May 2009 when it named Autumn Adkins as its 16th president in its 160-year existence. Ms. Adkins, who succeeded Dominic Cermele, became both the first woman and first African-American to head the school. She resigned in 2012.