COEDUCATION AT ST. DUNSTAN'S

St. Dunstan's, established in 1854 as an institution of higher education, remained a male stronghold until the late 1930's. In the late 20's the Sisters of St. Martha sought and were refused admission for some of the sisters. The idea was again revived in 1938 when the Superior General requested several sisters be allowed to enrol. This was approved. "In September, 193 8, Sister St (sic) John of the Cross MacDonald and Sister St (sic) Margarita became the first women ever to attend St. Dunstan's College. The following year six nuns registered for class." (1)". . .Sister Bernice Cullen, C.S.M., became, not only the first woman graduate at St. Dunstan's, but also the first person ever to receive a St. Dunstan's degree. She graduated summa cum laude in 1941, the year the University first exercised its charter. "(2) Full university powers, including the granting of degrees, were granted by an act of the PEI Legislature in 1917.

Lay women were still not admitted to St. Dunstan's. However, in 1942, Gertrude Butler, with support from her family and some University faculty, applied and obtained permission to attend St. Dunstan's. She, and three other Charlottetown residents, Mary Hennessey, Eileen McPhee and Kathleen MacNeely were admitted, along with Suzel Thibault, a French Canadian from Riviere du Loup. The Charlottetown students commuted but Suzel boarded at St. Vincent's Orphanage. Gertrude Butler was the only one of these women to graduate in 1944, making her the first lay woman to receive a degree from the university.

"Co-education had limits. It really extended only to classes. Female students studied and ate in separate quarters. At her graduation, Butler recalls, " '1 was not permitted to attend the dinner afier graduation, probably because I would have been the only girl present.’ She did not mind: 'I felt that we were very much a part of St. Dunstan's." (3)

In 1944 there were 13 women registered at the University. In 1945 St. Dunstan's made co-education a fixed policy. To accommodate the out-of- town women, a farm house on the property of St. Vincent's Orphanage was converted to a residence. Marian Hall was the name given to this residence. It housed about 12 students. Dining facilities for these students were in the Orphanage. It was expected these women students would attend daily mass in the chapel along with the Sisters of St. Martha, who administered the Orphanage, and the children .The number of women students at St. Dunstan's continued to increase. By the early '50's they accounted for 10% of the total enrolment.